


Spending Eternity, Alone

by Boku_wa_Tobi



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-11
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-03-03 14:34:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 94,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13343262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boku_wa_Tobi/pseuds/Boku_wa_Tobi
Summary: Raul Martinez didn't have the best childhood, and his father, Saul, played the biggest part in sculpting Raul into the immortal being he is today.





	1. Chapter 1

"Ugh! Come on, Lucian!" Saul groans to his father. "I thought we were going to go to this show." The twenty-four year old flounced into the living room and flopped on the couch.  
Lucian enters the living room casually from the kitchen and leans against the wall. With a towel in hand, he continues drying the spatula he has just washed, "I told you, Saul, I have to go help my brother get situated in his new place."  
Saul folds his arms and rolls his eyes, "Fuck Uncle Adrien! He's the one who wanted to move into a place with people he doesn't even know."  
Lucian narrows his eyes, "Watch it! You're just upset because your uncle is your 'bestie' and now you feel like his moving out of our house, is him ditching out on you. You still have your twin brother," he announces, pointing toward the front door.  
Salvador comes through the front door with his fiancee Evie De Los Santos, "What about me, pops?" He asks as he hangs his jacket on the coat rack.  
Evie pecks Sal on the lips quickly and chuckles, "He said your the best, Sal." Sal puts his arm around her and kisses her head.  
"Ew, I don't want to see that..." Saul squeamishly reprimands his brother's public display of affection toward Evie, to which Salvador scoffs.  
"Your brother, here, is throwing a tantrum because uncle Adje is moving out." Lucian folds the dampened towel over his arm.  
Now standing in front of Saul, Sal rubs his hand through his brother's chestnut colored, chin-length hair to dishevel it, "Nah, that's not a tantrum, pop. He's just having his period."  
Saul slaps his brother's hand away and rolls his eyes, "Shut up. I'm trying to convince Lucian to keep the plans he made with me weeks ago for tomorrow's show."  
Sal raises his brow, "Oh let me guess, you must be performing in this one, too, if you are so adamant about it." Saul averts his eyes to the floor, "That was supposed to be the surprise. I can never get him to come see me perform when I tell him I'm performing. I was going to announce it at dinner," he mumbles to himself. "We have a surprise to announce at dinner too, don't we babe?" Salvador hugs Evie tight and kisses her nose, purposely making his fraternal twin uncomfortable. Saul cringes and turns away from them. "Unbelievable. You've had more sex with more partners than I can even imagine, and this disgusts you? Do you scoff at this stuff because you want to make yourself look clean and innocent?" Sal laughs at his brother. "No, honey, it's love. He's got no problems with the sex part, he just can't love... or find someone to love him." Evie says snidely cocking her head. Lucian gazes at his boys and smiles, seeing his late wife, Paula McCable, in both of them. Saul resembles his mother physically, bearing her beautiful, thick, chestnut colored hair, the Irish light skin complexion, bright green eyes, and many of her structural attributes, such as her smaller lips, and the McCable mens' muscular body structure. His jaw line is soft but long like Lucian's, and his nose is nearly identical to Lucian's nose. Sal more closely resembles Lucian, physically, with dark skin, black hair, and a tall slender body structure, but he has his mother's bright green eyes and every bit of her strong, loving personality. The regret of spoiling Saul because he resembles Paula, and because of what he had been through, has crossed Lucian's mind so many times, but as soon as Saul showed so much as a grimace, Lucian gave in. With the frustration Saul is causing now, the thought comes to mind again, and Lucian just sighs aloud.  
"You really shouldn't have spoiled him so much," Salvador replies to his father's sigh.  
"Yeah, well it's a little too late now, isn't it?"  
Sal looks at the clock on the wall behind the couch where Saul sits, "Hey Dingus... What time is it? You forgetting something?"  
Confused, Saul turns to see the little hand on the three and the big hand on the six, representing three-thirty, "Ah shit! Raul..." He jumps up off the couch, checking his jean pockets to be sure he has his car keys. His brother slaps him on the ass as he runs out the front door. Sal shakes his head, "Ah...God, what an idiot!" Saul stops short on the porch and cringes hearing his brother's remark before the door latches. Opening the door that had just closed, he yells, "Dick!" to his brother before closing the door again. Sal, chuckling, quickly replies, "You're an asshole!" "Ugh..." Saul sighs after hearing his brother's comment followed by the latch of the door, again. He puts his hand on the doorknob, turning it to open the door, he inhales and yells "I hate you, too!" Saul then slams the door shut and leaps off the porch, and hurries to get into his brand new black Toyota Camry. 

Saul is so riddled with guilt, he doesn't even realize that most of the school traffic has dissipated, making the drive easier, or the sun shining through the windows, warming the car. When he finally pulls up to the school's main entrance he sees eight year old Raul standing outside of the elementary school, waiting. The boy's chestnut colored hair is wet with sweat and unkempt, and smudges of dirt stain his creamy cocoa skin. The sweater tied around his waist hangs down to cover the playground dirt on his jeans, and his scrawny body slouches slightly under the weight of his backpack. Raul sighs in relief when he sees his father's car, and looks to the clear sky, thankful that it isn't cold and raining. Saul gets out of the car and opens the back door for his son.  
"You forgot me, again..." Raul says apathetically.  
"No, I...uh... had to go shopping for papa Lucian and it took me a little longer than I expected... Now get in." Raul shakes his head and sighs at Saul's excuse, knowing that it is a lie.  
"Good thing it's nice out today," Raul mumbles as he climbs into the backseat of the car.  
"It is? Oh yea... it is, huh," Saul realizes that he hadn't even paid attention to his surroundings.  
The ride home is quiet. Saul feels better knowing nothing happened to the boy while he stood out there alone, but he is too embarrassed to make conversation with his son. Raul is just fed up with his father and doesn't want to talk to him.  
Saul pulls up to the house, and without a word, he turns the car off, gets out, opens Raul's door to let him out, then grabs the boy's backpack. "Go upstairs to your room and play your games, bud," Saul tosses the boy's backpack on the floor as he comes through the door. Raul is halfway up the stairs when he hears his backpack thump forward on the floor. He heads back down the stairs to pick it up and put it away in the closet, where it is normally kept. Kneeling on the closet floor, he opens the front pouch of his backpack and pulls out a small box. The box isn't much, in fact it's an old small jewelry box his mother was going to get rid of, but that box held Raul's favorite day. Inside is a fish key ring from the aquarium, two small animal figures, a giraffe and a lion, from the zoo, and a movie ticket. At the very bottom was a three year old picture of Raul being held and hugged by his loving parents Saul Martinez and Myra Patel. The smiles were bright and genuine then. He looks from the picture to the man he knows as his father today and swallows hard over the lump in his throat. Raul looks back down at the picture, but gravity pulls at a tear that has formed in his bright green eyes, and it splashes on his mother's face in the picture. He quickly wipes his eyes, then starts trying to pat the droplet on the picture dry with his shirt, wondering when he will see his mother again. The last time she came, she greeted him, asked how school was going, and then disappeared with his father into the bedroom for hours. She finally came out, quietly, and snook out of the house without waking anyone, except Raul who heard her giggling with his father as they sloppily tried to make their way out of the bedroom door.

Myra's family disliked Saul, and they shunned Raul because he was Saul's son. Myra is an only child, born into a traditional -Hindu family. Her parents wanted great things for her, as any parent wants for their children, but at age fifteen, she got a little antsy. She began going out with her friends to the theater and local concert venues, not to mention she was taking an interest in boys, and had a crush on one of the city's most popular, rising local band, Bedlam Letters' singer, Saul Martinez. The whole 'luck' nonsense is not something Myra gave into, but one night at a show, something came into play. She got lost looking for her friend's car in the parking lot and decided to head back toward the venue. Looking out toward the parking lot, frustrated she could not remember where they parked, she literally bumped into Saul as he was helping his band mates load their equipment into the van after their set. Finally, she is face to face with him, but she can't seem to say anything except, "Oh...Sorry." Saul just nodded and raised his brow in confusion as he continued passing parts of the drum kit to Nate, their drummer, inside the van. A man she recognized as the guitarist, a little older than Saul, came out of the back door, "Alright, that's everything," he informed Saul, and began helping Saul load the rest of the equipment back in the van. "Thanks Adje," she heard Saul's crisp voice answer the man as she slowly walked away. Disappointed that she couldn't say anything when face to face with Saul, Myra forced herself to go back and, at the very least, introduce herself to him. They hit it off. That night, the sixteen year old Saul invited her to the diner to have coffee with him, then back to his place, where they slept together. Most of the girls Saul took to bed were on birth control, so he didn't think twice to ask Myra if she was, and nine months later, a healthy baby Raul Martinez was born. Tanvi and Renesh made her go through with the pregnancy, allowing her out only to discreet doctor's appointments and occasionally to see Saul, which she fought for. After Raul was born, the Patels handed him over to the Martinez family. Lucian was in awe at little Raul and Sal couldn't wait to teach him everything he knew, but Saul was confused and in shock. The thought of having a little life depend on him for everything was scary and stressful. His mind raced with thoughts, good and bad, of the child's, and his own, present and future. Saul took a deep breath and exhaled slowly to calm himself. Sal put his arm around his brother, "Relax, Bro, we're going to get through this together." As Myra got older and finished high school, she began spending more time over at the Martinez house until she was eventually staying there on a regular basis. This is as close to a 'normal' family life that Raul got. He had his mother and father with him daily. They did activities and spent a lot of time with him. Most of the time they seemed happy, there were a few occasions that Saul seemed to be irritated or have his mind elsewhere, but he quickly bottled or redirected his feelings so that he could be there for Raul. Saul ended the relationship with Myra just after their perfect family day, where it seemed they did everything under the sun that Raul wanted to do. Myra moved back in with her family, trying to pick up where she left off with her life, and Raul stayed with his father. He remembers his father and his uncle standing up for his well-being, giving every reason why Raul would be better off staying with them.  
The boy only met his maternal grandparents once, and after Saul officially broke it off with Myra, she doesn't come around too often anymore either.  
Raul puts the picture back in the box, tucks the box back in his backpack, and shuts the closet door, heading up the stairs once more to take his bath before dinner.

The food laid out on the table is vibrant in color and smell. A medium rare roasted leg of lamb on a bed of romaine lettuce, seasoned perfectly with rosemary and thyme sets the center of the table. To the left of it, a casserole dish containing eggplant and leek lasagna, and to the right a very well dressed Cesar salad. Surrounding the three, are smaller dishes holding sides, such as Lucian's favorite, garlic and rosemary mashed potatoes, and sauteed broccoli, carrots, and zucchini. The kitchen counter is lined with desserts. Saul's favorite, sweet potato pie sits in between a creamy chocolate layered cake and a soft batch of sugar cookies and tart pastries, all made from scratch. As an Executive Chef with years of experience, Lucian is able to put together wondrous meals, making it look easy, but he had been cooking for twelve hours on his day off to prepare this meal, and he is exhausted. Everyone gathers around the table, their mouths watering from the delectable scents.  
Lucian taps on his glass, "Tonight we propose a toast to Sal and Evie on their engagement, and to Sal for graduating from the Veterinarian program at Brindle Bay University. Welcome home son!"  
"We also have an announcement," Sal begins, "You want to tell them, babe?"  
"No, sweetie, they're your family," Evie says, huddled close to Salvador.  
Saul rolls his eyes and sticks his finger in his mouth mocking a low gag and vomit sound. Raul chuckles at his father's idiotic gestures.  
"We've set the wedding date for August tenth, and we will send out the formal invitations by the end of this month." Lucian and Raul cheer loudly for Sal and Evie, Saul stands up and hugs his brother tight. "Hold on," Sal chuckles, "Evie's parents, Sonia and Jaime De Los Santos, have left the animal hospital and their home to us after their retirement. I'll be moving my things out over the next two weeks, when I can get here between work and wedding planning."  
Lucian and Raul cheer and clap again, but Saul swallows hard. He stands and hugs his brother again, "I'm really happy for you, bro." The group raise their glasses when the front door opens. "Whoa, whoa, what am I missing?" Adrien rushes in and hugs Salvador, "Sorry I'm a little late. Good to see you, Sal." Sal puts his arms around his thirty year old uncle, "Look at you. I didn't expect you tonight. So, where's your new confidant?" Adrien was born fifteen years after Lucian, of a different father. Lucian was twelve when his father passed away after battling a terminal illness. His mother , Serena, kept the last name Martinez, but eventually started dating again. There is no father listed on record for Adrien, nor did any man claim to be his father, or acknowledge Adrien's existence, but Adrien resembled a man his mother was dating around the time she got pregnant, Jeremy LeBlanc. Adrien is very light skinned in comparison to his older brother, and when his hair is it's natural black color, the contrast is very noticeable. His eyes are mostly hazel, with splotches of blue, and his long hair that has been bleached and dyed pink, is tied back. His choice of formal clothing for the Sal's congratulatory dinner is a sweater he borrowed from Lucian and a pair of jeans that weren't as grungy as the rest. Lucian shakes his head and chuckles at his brother. Because Adrien didn't have a father in his life, Lucian had to assume the role of a father figure to his baby brother. It was tough for a fifteen year old boy who had recently lost his father to take on the responsibility of an infant. Lucian still had to go to school, and work around his mother's schedule. As a child, Adrien was so picky that Lucian would do anything to perfect recipes to his brother's liking, awakening the culinary desire he has today. Caught off guard by Sal's question, Saul jerks his head toward Adrien, "Huh!?!" Adrien sucks on his bottom lip, then smiles and winks at Saul while tapping him on the shoulder. "He's on his way in," just as Adrien spoke, a beautiful young man made entrance through the front door. Saul became very focused on the young man as he made his way over to the table. The man looked to be in his early twenties. He has dark brown hair that is cut and layered so that it falls longer in the front, and short in the back, similar to the style some of the goth and emo kids around his neighborhood would wear their hair. The man's skin is very pale, but his complexion is flawless, almost as if he is wearing makeup, and his eyes are calypso blue. He wears a Victorian Gothic outfit, complete with scarf and trench coat, over his slender body. Saul quickly looks around to see everyone is preoccupied with talking to one another and he quickly glances at the crotch area of the man's tight pants to see a good sized bulge. He places his jacket over his lap to cover the erection in his pants. Adrien puts his arm around the man, "Everyone, this is Calaen La Torre. Calaen, this is my older brother, Lucian, his children Sal, who we are here to celebrate, and Saul. This is Sal's fiancee, Evie, and that little guy over there is Saul's son Raul." "You have a beautiful family, it is so nice to finally meet all of you. Thank you for welcoming me into your home," Calaen speaks with a very heavy European accent that melts Saul's heart. "It's great to meet you. Why don't you pull up a chair and help yourselves," Lucian offers. "No can do, bro. We gotta take off to get everything situated." Adrien turns down his brother's offer then turns to hug Sal, "God, it's great to see you again, Sal. We'll try to come back later." Adrien taps Saul on the shoulder with his fist, "If I don't see you tonight, I'll definitely see you tomorrow. You ready for this show?" Saul nods, laughing, and repeats the question back to Adrien as a response, "Are YOU ready for this show?" "Whatever, dude, I'll see you later." Adrien playfully shoves Saul, and when Saul looks up to make eye contact with his uncle, his eyes meet Calaen's. He blushes hard, holding his breath at the stinging sensation he feels. Calaen gives a flirty smile and Saul can see a glint of interest sparkle in the Gothic man's eyes. Adrien and Calaen take their leave, Saul watching them until the very last moment when the front door closes. He turns his attention back to the table to see everyone silently staring at him. "What?" "Dude, you really must be pissed at Adrien if you are watching him that intently," Sal sips his drink and takes a seat. Saul raises his glass, "Shut up dude. To you, Sal, on these big accomplishments in your life. As far as Adrien is concerned, yea, I am a little upset with him right now." "So what venue are you playing tomorrow?" Sal opens the conversation for his brother. "Are you going to come? Adje and I are not performing with the band, we got a gig performing in the Shakespeare Theater show this weekend, that's what we have been 'practicing' for these passed few months." Saul perks up excitedly. "You are such a terrible liar," Sal chuckles. He can see the excitement and eagerness in his brother's expressions, but they quickly fade when Saul can read disappointment in Sal's expressions. "I'm sorry Saul. I have to be at the animal hospital tomorrow night." "Taking care of fuzzy little critters, it's cool," Saul laughs it off. "Yea, well not everyone can be big a big rock star and 'theater star' like you." "Bullshit," Saul immediately responds, "You are the best guitarist I know. Why wouldn't you play with me and Adje in the band?" "Saul, I wanted different things from life. I wanted to help animals and I want a family," Sal explains. "Ok, I get it, fuzzy critters and kittens, and," Saul smirks at his brother, "By the way, how is Evie's kitty? Remind me... is it long hair or short hair..." "Saul, that's really inappropriate," Sal reprimands his brother for the comment that has his beloved Evie so embarrassed, she puts her head down and her hand over her face. "Oh, c'mon, I'm just asking," Saul prods. "Damn it, Saul. I am happy with your brother, not everyone is going just drop everything they have going on in their lives to sleep with you," Evie snaps. Leaning back in the chair, Saul inhales, smiles slyly at Evie, and comments rudely, "You did." "Oh my G..." Before Evie can get another word out, Sal stands up. "Hey! Can you two not have this conversation right now? There is an eight year old child at the table, who really doesn't need to hear this." "It's ok, Uncle Sal. I'm not really hungry anyway," Raul replies sadly. "You're not hungry, or you just don't like it?" Saul asks irritated, "Papa Lucian is an excellent and well known chef, you're just so picky." He scoffs, "Fine, go to your room." Raul makes his way up the stairs.

"Saul, really? He's a child. Children don't have refined tastes like we do," Sal defends Raul.  
"Whoa, ok, great dinner, now if you'll excuse me," Lucian excuses himself from the table and steps out on the back porch, lighting a cigarette. In the back yard, a weather resistant canopy tent is set up. Lucian pulls on his cigarette and walks down the porch steps, making his way to the tent. The inside of the tent is dim, lit only by two stings of white Christmas lights strung up across the ceiling of the tent, and three small arcade games with lights and screens flashing. A medium sized bar holding a variety of alcohol sits parallel with the back wall of the tent and beside the bar, is a shelved cooler stocked with bottled beer. Lucian begins making a drink when Saul comes through the tent, "Dad, I'm really sorry about the way I acted in there. It was totally uncalled for. I am just upset and frustrated." Saul grabs a bottle off of the shelf and begins making himself a drink. "Uh-uh, once you start you won't stop," Lucian grabs the bottle from him. Saul gives his father the side eye, then relaxes his expression. "I don't know, pop," he sighs, "I'm scared." Lucian swallows a large sip of his drink, "What are you afraid of, Saul?" Saul grabs a beer out of the fridge and hesitates before opening it, looking to his father for approval. Lucian rolls his eyes and nods, giving up and giving in to Saul's alcohol consumption. The young man grabs the bottle opener tied to the handle of the cooler by a string, and pops the cap off, letting it fall into the small wastebasket below. "I'm afraid of life, I'm afraid of death, I'm afraid of losing those I love," Saul's voice breaks and tears begin to fill his eyes, "...like mom," he tries to speak, but the choke grabs hold of his throat, silencing his vocals to whispers. "I know I don't know how to redirect my emotions, and I take it out on people who don't deserve it. I know," Saul begins to choke again and tears start escaping down his cheeks. He swallows hard, "I know that I have preoccupied my time with everything but the one thing that should be most important to me. I am a terrible father to Raul. I'm so scared to get close to him, I'm so scared I'll do something that's unforgivable in his eyes, I'm so scared I'll die on him, or worse... He'll die on me." Lucian pulls his son into him, allowing him to cry it out on his shoulder, "Cancel the show tomorrow, son. You are stretched too thin with everything you've committed to, you and Adje both. I mean, come on, you just got done touring not that long ago. And my brother, he loves you, Saul. Everything he does, he does for you, like being in the band with you, and rehearsing theatrical plays, but he can use a break too." "I know," Saul picks his head up off of Lucian's shoulder and wipes his eyes, "And I don't want to lose him, Sal, or you, dad." "We are all still here. Look at all the great things you've accomplished; You practiced hard and became a great performer, you're active in the community and you've helped people, you are the primary care-giver of Raul, you're doing a better job than Myra," Lucian pats his son on the back. Saul chuckles, "I never wanted kids," he admits, "I made a mistake, but I took responsibility for Raul, and I love him. Myra obviously doesn't give a fuck about him." Lucian looks to Saul's groin area and points, "If you never wanted kids, you should have bagged it up or kept it in your pants," Lucian shrugs his shoulders, "There's always the option to have sex with other men," he waves his hand out in front of him in an enticing manner.

In the kitchen, Sal grabs a banana and an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter, then a snack pack of animal crackers from the pantry.  
"What are you doing, Sal?" Evie watches Sal hurrying around the kitchen, hitting the refrigerator last for a kid's snack pack juice box.  
"I'm not letting that kid go hungry," Sal answers fervidly.  
Evie smiles at her fiance's passion and sits on the couch while Sal runs up the stairs with food he has just gathered.  
Sal knocks on Raul's door, "Hey, little chicken, can I come in?"  
The door opens slowly to reveal a downhearted Raul on the other side. "Sure, Uncle Sal."  
Raul turns away from the door and sits down on his bed. Sal sits next to him, still holding the snacks in hand. "Look bud, here's some snacks to hold you over until tomorrow morning, if you don't get to eat anything else tonight." He sets the food on the bed in between them.  
Raul pushes the food aside and shifts himself closer to Sal, laying his head against and wrapping his arm around his loving uncle. "Sal are you going to go away again?"  
Sal puts his arm around Raul and hugs him tight, "I'll be moving soon, yes, but I'll always be around for you. You have my number, you can always call me, and you can come stay with me and Aunt Evie anytime you'd like, ok?"  
Raul nods, "Uncle Sal, can you give me a little brother or sister?"  
Sal chuckles, "Well, chicken, I think your dad has to be the one to give you a brother or sister. I can give you a baby cousin."  
"OK, then that's what I want, a baby cousin, and I'll make my cousin to be my brother or sister," Raul smiles happily.  
Sal kisses Raul on the head, "We're going to take off soon. I love you. Good night little chicken."  
"Night-Night, Sal. I love you too, big chicken." Raul giggles and gets up to follow his uncle to the top of the stairs where he watches Sal descend the stairs and sit on the couch next to Evie.  
"You all set, honey?" Evie questions Sal.  
"Babe, I think we should try for a child," Sal states.  
"Baby, I have watched you care for your brother's little boy for years, and you would be a wonderful father, but we already talked about this, and we both came to an agreement that neither of us are ready to have children right now. And to be honest, I don't know if I want children down the road." Evie collects her coat from the back of the couch.  
"Can we reconsider?" Sal nods his head toward the stairs and Evie looks up to see Raul hiding behind the banister. "He really wants a little brother or sister. We only have to have just one."  
Evie smiles and beckons Raul down the stairs, "Come here, sweetie."  
Raul shyly makes his way down the stairs and starts climbing up onto Evie's lap. She hugs him tight, "Are you wanting Uncle Sal to give you a little brother or sister?"  
Still shying away from talking, he nods his head slightly.  
"OK, sweetie, I think we can do that for you," Evie kisses Raul's cheek and helps him down off of her lap.

Saul and Lucian come in through the back door.  
"Hey Pop, that you? Evie and I are taking off," Sal yells as he puts his jacket on and begins walking toward the kitchen, meeting his father and brother half way.  
"Thanks for dinner, pop, you're the best, " Sal hugs Lucian and looks to his brother, getting ready to hug him and say his good-byes. Concern shows on Sal's face, using his expressions and eye contact to ask Saul if he is ok, when seeing his brother's face red and dampened with tears.  
Saul sniffles and nods his response. Sal lets go of Lucian and wraps his arms around his brother.  
"Was it a mom cry?" Sal whispers in his brother's ear.  
"It's just everything, bro. I'm good," Saul whispers back, then lets go of his brother. He moves quickly to a cabinet below the counter in the kitchen, "I almost forgot, this is for you and Evie." Saul pulls out a gift bag with wrapping tissue stuffed in it.  
"You didn't have to do that," Sal lovingly tells his brother, "What is it?"  
"I picked you up something unique from every European country we toured," Saul hands the bag over to Sal.  
Evie sighs, "Saul, that was very thoughtful... and sweet of you, thank you."  
"Evie, I'm sorry I was being a dick. You're a great woman, and I'm glad my brother has you. You make him happy, and I'm glad he makes you happy." Saul hugs Evie.  
Evie can feel his warmth, smell his cologne, shampoo, and the spearmint gum on his breath, reminding her of the few times when she was with Saul, and how she wanted a relationship with him. It was this Saul that made her miss him. 

*** Saturday, The La Torre Household***

Saul pulls up to the address Adrien had sent to Lucian's phone, and parks behind a large moving truck.  
"This has to be it," Lucian announces, looking at the GPS on his phone again.  
"How long are we gonna be here, daddy?" Raul asks from the back seat.  
"I don't know, bud, but I'm sure uncle Adrien has some stuff for you to do," Saul turns the car off and gets out.  
The street is fairly well shaded, though it is mid-morning on a sunny day. The house itself is an old-world, Victorian style, town home. Through the windows it looks dark and empty. Adrien comes out of the front door to greet them.  
"Hey! Thanks for coming. Everything is in this truck, we cleared some space out of the rooms last night to fit everything. It should make this go fairly quick," Adrien informs his brother and nephew. "Hey little dude, we got some stuff you can play with in the backyard. C'mon, I'll take you back there."  
Lucian opens the trailer door and Saul climbs in. He hands Lucian a hand-truck and starts unloading Adrien's belongings.  
"Is it just us unloading?" Saul asks Adrien who is coming through the gate leading to the backyard. "Where's your roomies?"  
"Yea, it's just us. I have two roomies, Calaen, you met last night, and his sister, Lily. They won't be helping, they have this condition that incapacitates them at times," Adrien very briefly explains. "They are sleeping, so we just have to keep it somewhat quiet."  
Saul leans his hand against the wall of the trailer, looks back at the furniture and boxes, and sighs.  
Adrien jumps into the trailer and begins to pull boxes down off of the large pile of boxes on top of furniture. He stops and looks back at Saul, who is still leaning against the trailer wall, quietly mouthing words back and forth to Lucian, "Whatever dude, it'll be quick and easy. Now, help me get these boxes down," Adrien throws a lighter box to Saul, who catches it after it knocks against his chest.

Adrien and Saul work quickly, piling most of the boxes on the first hand-truck load, "This is going to be heavy. What room are these all going in?"  
"My room is upstairs. Relax, it won't be so bad. Put those muscles to work, boy," Saul rolls his eyes at his uncle as all three of the men lift the hand-truck up the porch steps.  
After they set the hand-truck down on the porch, Lucian stands up and puts his hands on his hips and paces back and forth, "Give me a minute."  
"what? Ok, small break for the weakling," Adrien pushes against his brother's shoulder.  
Lucian paces back around and slaps Adrien upside the back of his head, "Shut up, I'm a lot older than you."  
"Yea Adje, can we unload some of this shit, and leave it on the porch for now? Lucian isn't going to make it up a full flight of stairs with all of this," Saul starts unloading some of the boxes off the top of the hand-truck.  
Adrien scoffs as he helps Saul remove some of the boxes and secure the rest on.

The three men enter the foyer, but the house is dark and it is difficult to see. To the left is a large opening for entrance to the living room, but the men can barely make out what is in the room. Thick, dark curtains hang from the windows, blocking light from coming in. Adrien turns on a small lamp that is set on a table to the right of the door in the foyer. It isn't much, but it allows them to see the foyer and that the stairs are located in front of them. Adrien then runs up the stairs to the first landing and pulls on the string of the chandelier hanging from the ceiling to light the stairs and the upstairs corridors. "Saul, lift on three," Saul nods to his father and readies himself at the base of the hand-truck. "One... Two... Three," Lucian grunts. Adrien comes back down the stairs to guide his brother and nephew, "Move over, old man. I'll take it from here." Lucian gladly lets his younger brother take over and he makes his way in front of Saul, who is going up the stairs backwards to carry the load, in order to guide them. "Where are we going with this, Adje?" Lucian asks, looking from door to door. "It's the door at the top of the stairs."  
Lucian quietly opens the door and flips the light switch on the wall to the left of the door. "What's that door?" Lucian points to the door adjacent to Adrien's bedroom. "That's a bathroom," Adrien and Saul sit the hand-truck of boxes down and begin unloading the boxes. Adrien then steps into the threshold of the bedroom and points toward the door down the hall, "That's Calaen's room. He has the master bedroom and bathroom." He turns and points to the door next to the bathroom, "That's Lily's room." Saul pulls a box off and sets it down on the bedroom floor, then turns to look out the door, thinking he heard one of the other doors latch. "Alright, let's get the rest of those boxes on the porch," Lucian drags his feet down the stairs.

Green grass grows in the yard, despite how shady it may be, but the fairly large space enclosed by a stone wall, is empty. Raul sits on a bench swing under an eerie looking tree and plays with his race car quietly. Streaks of yellow, black, white, and red whip through the yard, and a light wind brushes against him. The young boy gulps hard and rubs his eyes. He looks from left to right and sees only the empty yard. The blur of colors comes back through the gate and turns, coming right at him. Raul stands on the bench and holds the supporting rope. The blur stops suddenly and appears a woman, with black shoulder length hair and bangs laid across her forehead, stopping just above her thin, shaped eyebrows. She wore a sleeveless yellow satin shirt and a pair of black jeans, accessorized by knee-high, black, lace-up, heel boots, a thin silver chain around her neck with a single pearl in a clasp as a charm, and bright red lipstick. "Da... Dad... Daddy," Raul tries to call for his father but his throat only emits a whisper. "Boo," the woman sarcastically says to Raul. Raul begins crying, "Dad...?" Mocking the boy, "Daddy, daddy..." "Oh shut up," the woman grabs Raul by the shirt and pulls him into the house. "Hey! I found some little brat messing around in our yard, if he's lost, he's fair game..." She calls out as she enters the house and makes her way to the front room. Adrien stands before her defensively, "That's my nephew," while Saul vehemently removes her hand from Raul and guides his son behind him. "Mmm, who's this tasty looking dessert?" She asks Adrien while continuing to hold eye contact with her aggressor. "Lily, this is my nephew, Saul." "Charmed," she offers her hand to Saul, but he refuses, shaking his head. He leaves the corridor with Raul. "I like him, he's spicy," she says in a flirty manner to Adrien. "Yea, I'm sure he feels the same way about you," Adrien's sarcasm earns him a shove. Upstairs, Calaen's door opens, "What is going on?" Looking over the banister, he sees Adrien and Lily at the bottom of the stairs. Lucian, Saul, and Raul re-enter the house through the front door. "Ask your lover boy," Lily directs her brother while looking at Adrien. Saul looks up to see Calaen looking back at him over the banister. As dimly lit as the house may be, Calaen's blue eyes are bright and noticeable. He then directs his attention to his uncle, and swallows hard, waiting for his uncle's reply to Lily calling him Calaen's 'lover boy'. "Hey, babe," Adrien winks at Calaen, "Your sister is trying to eat my nephew," Adrien then turns to his brother, "Dude, what took you so long?" "I told you, smoke break. I smoked it across the street, in that park." Calaen sighs, "What? Lily, why have you awaken?" "I'm hungry," her retort causing Calaen to acknowledge his own hunger arise.  
"Adrien?" She beckon's the young man to follow her. Adrien looks to Calaen to communicate his disappointment, then back to Saul and Lucian, "I'll be right back," he informs them in a saddened tone. "The little one can sit in the kitchen and watch the television," Calaen says to Saul as he makes his way down the stairs. Saul lifts the last box onto the hand-truck and stands to meet Calaen face to face. His eyes can't help but travel to and focus on Calaen's luscious lips. The gap between them is so small that Saul can feel Calaen's sweet minty breath caress his own lips. He closes his eyes and moves his head slightly closer to Calaen's. "Come on, Raul, I'll turn on some children's shows for you," Saul hears Calaen prompt Raul and opens his eyes. Calaen glances at Saul's erection in his tight pants and smirks, then guides the boy into the kitchen, turning on the television for him.

"Saul, were you about to kiss him?" Saul shakes his head and rolls his eyes at his father. He follows the sound of his uncle's moans to a door down the hall, heading toward the kitchen. The door is cracked open and he taps it to crack it open a little further. The small room is dark, only lit by a dim night light, but he can see the furnishings of a bathroom. Adrien appears to be pushed up against the wall with Lily kissing at his neck. Saul taps the door again to open it a smidgen more, but the door creaks. Lily slowly lifts her head off the base of Adrien's neck and turns around to see green eyes looking in. Adrien slides down the wall to the floor and Saul can see a dark substance, resembling blood, smeared around Lily's mouth, and her eye color has changed to a crimson red. Saul gasps, then shakes his head, knowing that monsters like vampires are not real. Before Lily can swing the door open, Caelen is standing behind Saul, "What are you doing?" Saul turns to face Calaen, "I heard my uncle, and thought he might have been in pain," the intoxication he feels around Calaen setting in and causing him to move his lips closer to Calaen's with every word. Saul catches himself engulfed in Calaen's presence "I don't think he is feeling too well. What did she do to him?" "Calaen looks at Saul apprehensively, "I can show you, if you want, but I want you to give me permission to do this." "Fine, whatever, you have my permission," Saul follows Calaen up to his bedroom. "Saul, I'm taking Raul over to the park, I need a smoke," Lucian calls up the stairs. "Again Lucian?" "Shut up. Just tell me when Adje comes back," Lucian taps Raul on the shoulder and they leave out of the front door. 

Saul enters the bedroom behind Caelen, who stops at the door, shutting and locking it once Saul is in. The room is large. A canopy bed is placed in the middle of the room with a bedside table on either side. Dark, thick curtains dampen the sunlight coming in through the four large Victorian windows, two on the opposite wall from the bedroom entrance, across from the bed, and one adjacent on each side. The floor is carpeted with no debris or obstacles strewn over it, and the room smells of Lilac and Roses. There is a beautiful wooden Victorian dresser next to a closet door on the far side of the room, and a antique foter chair next to a decorative floor lamp in the far corner. "My sister and I are from a very different place, and a very different time. In fact, we don't fit in with normal people." Calaen takes his Victorian style black jacket off and lays it over the chair in the corner of the room, then moves quickly over to Saul. He runs his hand through Saul's hair and continues to trace the contour of the young man's face.  
Saul's breaths become faster and his heart rate picks up pace. Calaen drops his hand to his side and smiles, emitting a small chuckle. Keeping in front of his prey, he guides Saul to sit on the bed. He then begins to climb on top of him, leading his guest to lay down.  
"I'm going to take my time with you," he whispers into Saul's ear. Saul closes his eyes and exhales, feeling his member harden again. Caelen kisses Saul's head and cheek, running his hand through the young man's hair. Holding Saul's chin, he softly grazes his lips over Saul's, then leans into his neck, licking and kissing from the base up to the man's chin.  
He places his hand on Saul's chest, "Your heart beats strong." Looking into those bright green eyes, Calaen closes his eyes, pushes his lips against Saul's and licks them, gaining partial entrance into his mouth. Saul's tongue happily plays back, but Calaen breaks the kiss, looks into Saul's eyes once more, then brings his lips to Saul's ear, "I can turn you, you know. You can be like me, and Lily, for eternity, if you want."  
Saul just nods his response. Calaen begins kissing, licking, and biting at Saul's ear, working his way down to the base of his neck, where his jugular vein is most prominent. Saul grabs Calaen's hand and rests it on the bulge in his pants, but Calaen only caresses it lightly as he moves his hand up to grasp Saul's hip, and allows his fangs to pierce the skin and drain the vein. Saul moans loudly. Euphoria taking hold of him, causing him to cum in his pants. He becomes dizzy, and nearly incoherent when Calaen finally breaks away to spike his own veins in his wrist to draw blood. He lifts Saul's head, "Drink," he commands him, "You'll feel better once you do."  
Saul begins licking and sucking at Calaen's wrist, unable to determine reality from fantasy. Calaen pulls his wrist away, licks the blood off of Saul's mouth and lays his head down on the pillow, "Rest here."

Adrien awakens on the floor of the bathroom, "Ugh..." Using the sink to steady himself, he tries to stand.  
Calaen hears this and runs in to aid him, "What happened baby?"  
"She took too much... Again." Holding on to Calaen he makes his way out of the bathroom.  
Caelen lays him on the couch, "You need rest."  
"I need a fucking blood transfusion," Adrien turns to face the back of the couch and folds a pillow under his head. "Did my brother and nephew leave already?"  
"No. I believe your brother took the child across the street to the park," but before Calaen could finish, Adrien passes out. He sighs in relief of not having to explain Saul's whereabouts and looks up the stairs to Lily's room, then back to the front door when Lucian and Raul enter.  
"Hey. Did my brother come back yet?"  
Calaen exhales and directs his gaze to the couch in the living room, "I'm afraid he has fallen ill. I will help you finish taking his things into his bedroom."  
"Where did my son run off to? He should be helping us," Lucian questions, looking toward the top of the stairs, then out toward the kitchen.  
"He has fallen ill too, I'm afraid, while I was showing him my bedroom furniture collection. I left him to rest in my bedroom. Allow me to help with Adrien's things." Calaen and Lucian quickly move out and begin loading the hand-truck.  
"My brother said you suffer from a condition. I wasn't sure you'd be able to help me." Lucian grabs another box from Calaen and loads it on the hand-truck.  
"Non-sense, I do have my days, but I'm strong."


	2. Chapter 2

Saul brings his hand to his head and opens his eyes. He looks around trying to become oriented with his surroundings, "Where the fuck am I?" The memory of helping Lucian and Adrien carry the hand-truck up the stairs comes forth, followed by the memory of following Calaen up the stairs, "Oh, yea." A throbbing pain emanates throughout his body and he doesn't want to move. It's warm under the blanket, but he knows Lucian and Raul are waiting for him. Still dizzy and weak, he tries to move his leg, only to feel how sticky and moist the crotch of his pants are, "Ugh... Great. I couldn't even last long enough to get it out of my pants... He probably thinks I'm a total loser," he inhales weakly, "and he probably told everyone." Saul pulls himself to the edge of the bed and falls to the floor, taking most of the comforter with him. The door opens and Calaen enters quickly, "Oh, good, you're up. Are you ok?" Saul looks up at him with labored breathing, and puts his head down on his arm. Calaen leans down to assist Saul to a standing position, "I didn't tell anyone." "You heard me?" Calaen nods to Saul's question and Saul sighs in relief. "Trust me, that is not something I would make everyone's business," Calaen reassures Saul as he helps him off the floor. "Great... You are embarrassed by me?" Saul hangs his head and takes a deep breath. "What? No... that is not what I meant. Just... Come on." The men stand for a moment for Saul to gain his balance. "What time is it? How long was I out?" Saul questions as Calaen walks him out of the room. "You weren't out for very long, only about thirty minutes. Your father and I finished transferring all of Adrien's belongings to his bedroom. When he feels better he can start setting his room up." "Did you drain my nephew? What the hell, baby?" Adrien calls to Calaen as he and Saul make their way down the stairs. "I'm sorry. I know there is no excuse in the world that would make up for this. I was hungry, and his blood, oh God his blood, was so sweet. He did give me permission, though." Confused by Calaen's explanation, Saul looks to Adrien. "You'll recover quick, it doesn't last that long. We'll be well enough to do the show tonight," Adrien puts his arm around his nephew. Saul nods without fully understanding why they were talking about sex like that, and looks out into the kitchen to see Lucian and Raul watching television together. He smiles, feeling relief that he wasn't unconscious for too long. Raul sees his father looking down the corridor at him, "Dad! Are you finished helping Adje? Papa Lucian bought some food from the Deli. Come eat with us." Adrien smiles, "Come on, I'm starving. You gotta eat to regain your strength." He puts his arm around Saul, leading him to the kitchen. The food smells delicious, but Saul can't tell if he is hungry or sick. Adrien hands him a sub sandwich. He stares at it, then smells it again, hoping to spark a stronger feeling of hunger. When no such feeling arises, he sets the sandwich back on the table. "You're not going to eat?" Adrien looks from the sandwich to Saul. "I don't feel so well, Adje," Saul replies, walking over to the bar set up in the kitchen, and helping himself to a drink. "Do you have permission to have a drink?" Adrien smirks at his nephew's behavior in his current condition. "It's ok, Adje, he can have a drink," Calaen answers. "Once he starts, it's hard to ween him off the bottle," Adrien jokes, tapping Saul in the ribs with his elbow. "Ha ha ha," Saul punches his uncle in the arm. "Ow, you dick," Adrien rubs the spot on his arm that Saul hit. "Oh, and like elbowing me in the ribs didn't hurt?" Saul and Adrien both laugh, Adrien joining Saul behind the bar to make himself a drink. "We have to meet the rest of the guys in an hour at Nate's. Calaen is coming to the show tonight. Lucian, why don't you come? You never come to any of our shows," Adrien pleas. "You're forgetting while you two are out living it up, I have Raul," Lucian jokes. "I've told you before, you can bring him," Saul pours himself another drink at the bar. "Please papa Lucian! I want to go." Lucian looks into Raul's green eyes and remembers Saul at that age. Lucian sighs, "Ok. We'll go." Raul balls his fists in excitement, Yes!" He hugs his grandfather, "Thank you!" "Can we drop you off with my brother, and you ride with him to the show?" Adrien asks Calaen. "Sure, that would be fine," Calaen nods, smiling at Raul. Lily comes charging out of her room, "What is all this talk of going out? I want to go." Calaen looks to Lucian, who nods his head in agreement. "Alright, see you at the show," Adrien and Saul leave the house.

***Nate's House***

When Saul and Adrien pull up to Nate's house, the van is already open and the guys are pulling equipment out of Nate's garage.  
"You started already?" Adrien asks Nate, looking at his watch to confirm that they arrived earlier than the time they were told.  
"Yea, why not? Everyone else stayed here. Oh, but that's right you moved in with your new..." Adrien grabs Nate by the arm.  
"Can we finish this conversation in private?"  
Nate shakes his head, "I have nothing left to say to you." He pulls his arm back from Adrien and walks toward the van to help load the music equipment and instruments.  
"Nate, wait, why did you tell me to meet you here at four if you didn't want us here?" Adrien argues.  
"Oh, I have no problem with Saul being here. I only said that to you, one, because we all need to make the show, and two, I didn't want to seem like a dick in front of everyone else, so I had to play nice and invite you." Nate throws his hand up and walks away again.  
"What the fuck, Nate?" Adrien follows Nate to the van.  
"You know what Adrien? Eight years. I gave you eight fucking years of my life, committed to you, and suddenly, I'm not good enough for you anymore." Nate pokes his finger into Adrien's chest, and tears well in his hazel eyes.  
"Nate, I'm sorry. We spoke about this, we just grew apart... We changed," Adrien starts to explain before he is cut off by Nate.  
"No, God damn it! You changed! Not me, I'm still the same man I was the day I met you. If anything, I've bettered myself," Nate screams in the street, frantically pointing at Adrien and using very animated gestures, while the other band mates look on.  
"Uh-oh, this isn't good before a show," Mike, the bassist, says to Jimmy, the rhythm guitarist.  
"Lover's quarrel again?" Jimmy jokingly asks.  
"What are you talking about? Why are they fighting?" Saul sets the amp down in front of him.  
"More like ex-lover's quarrel," Mike corrects Jimmy.  
"Oh yea, I forgot, they broke up," Jimmy then turns his attention to Saul, "Saul, dude, tell me you still don't know that your uncle is gay and he was dating Nate for like eight years?"  
"What? Stop fucking with me," Saul laughs.  
"All those nights Adrien stayed here at Nate's. It was like he practically lived here. Dude, just listen to them. What the fuck do you think they are fighting about?"  
"I cry myself to sleep every night, wondering where I went wrong," Nate inhales and sniffles, with tears running down his face, "I'm losing sleep over you, and I'm unable to focus on my tasks because of you... And you're not even worth it!"  
Adrien moves over to Nate and wraps his arms around him.  
"Don't fucking touch me!" Nate swats Adrien's arms away from him, then begins wiping the tears from his eyes and face.  
"Nate, can we go inside and talk?" Adrien forces the question out over the lump in his throat.  
"No," Nate says calmly, "I don't want to talk about it anymore. We have a show to prepare for, and this isn't making the fact that I still have to perform with you any easier."  
The argument upset Adrien so much that he almost feels uncomfortable in his own skin. He walks back toward the garage thinking how he never meant to hurt Nate as much as he did.  
"What was that about? Are we ok to perform?" Saul watches as Adrien passes him, wiping the tears from his eyes.  
"It's nothing, and I don't want to talk about it." Adrien enters the garage through the side door, and slams it shut behind him.  
The group outside can hear the banging and clattering of things being hit and knocked over in the garage. Glass shatters and Adrien yells. When they enter, all of the stuff Adrien was storing in Nate's garage is tipped over. A glass fish tank is shattered on the floor and Adrien punches the concrete wall, leaving blood smears behind after each hit. Saul grabs him, and pulls his arms behind him, "Stop it! What the fuck is this?"  
Nate enters the garage to see Saul restraining Adrien. Adrien and Nate make eye contact as Nate passes by to break down his drum kit.  
"Help him," Saul lets his uncle go with a shove.  
"I don't need any help. How about he cleans up this mess instead?" Nate pulls his bass drum out and begins walking out of the garage.  
Adrien lowers his head, looking at the mess he made and the damage he caused. He tries to clean up as quickly as possible, while the rest of the band packs the equipment into the van.

***The Venue***

"Are you sure you didn't want to come, Lily?" Calaen confirms with his sister over the phone, "Alright, we are here. I'll talk to you when I get home." Lucian parks the car in the parking lot behind the venue, "I've only come here a couple of times to pick Saul up after his shows. I have never actually had to go into the place, so I'm not sure where the entrance is, or how we pay to get in."  
Calaen chuckles, "It's ok, I'm sure we will find our way," Calaen points to the bands pulled up to the back stage door, unloading their instruments, "We can ask them."  
Lucian and Calaen get out of the car and Lucian opens the door for Raul to climb out of the backseat. Both men each grab either of Raul's hands to walk him across the parking lot to the back of the venue. They walk around the white van to see Saul and Adrien unloading their music equipment.  
"Adrien, Saul, I had no idea this was your van. How do we get in?" Calaen blushes.  
"Yea, sorry guys, I don't know my way around these things," Lucian admits.  
"Because you never come see me perform, Lucian," Saul mumbles on exhale.  
Lucian sighs at his son's comment.  
"Hey, baby. Hey, bro. What's up little man? Just go around to the front of the building. The man at the door will let you in. Tell him you are on the guest list and give him your name.Can you do that little man?" Adrien fist-bumps Raul and Raul nods.  
Calaen and Lucian make their way to the front of the building with Raul.  
"So that's him, huh?" Nate swallows hard.  
"Yea, but never mind that. Let's get this shit unloaded," Adrien drags a case of wires and cables out.  
Nate grabs the guitars and exits the van, "You're right. Look, I'm happy for you. I just want to see you happy, Adrien, and he's..." Nate catches a glimpse of his own reflection in the van's window and turns away from it, "He's a beautiful man, and seems well rounded. I hope we can get passed this and move on."  
"I've moved on," Adrien states firmly, insinuating that Nate has not.  
Tears begin to form in the twenty-seven year old man's hazel eyes again, "I don't mean like that. I mean us, with our friendship, I hope we can move passed this rough spot."  
"Are we friends, Nate? Is it really healthy for us to remain friends?" Adrien's insensitivity causes a tear to find it's way down Nate's cheek.  
"Yes, I would like for us to remain friends. We still have to practice together, write music together, perform together, and we have many of the same friends," Nate rationalizes with the man who has shut himself off.  
Adrien smiles and wipes the tear from Nate's cheek, "Ok, we'll see how things work out. Now, let's go organize our shit, so we can set up."  
In the front of the building, Calaen explains to the bouncer that he and his party are on the guest list for the head-lining band.  
"I'm Raul Martinez. My daddy said I can come see him," Raul is excited to finally be invited to see his father perform.  
The man looks up their names and allows them to enter the venue, pointing out the specific locations they are allowed to go, and the locations that are off limits.  
They sit at the bar, ordering drinks for themselves and a soda for Raul.  
"He's too young to be in here, isn't he?" The bartender, a thick, voluptuous woman with curly blonde ringlets and blue eyes shaded in gray and black make-up to contrast her bright red lips, asks Lucian.  
The woman wears a tight black tee shirt with cut off sleeves, a collar that has been altered to show cleavage, and that is shortened, cut off just below her large breasts. Across her breast is the band's name in white print, 'Bedlam Letters'.  
"Yea, but his father is performing tonight and put him on the list," Lucian explains, sipping at his drink.  
"Oh, yea? That's so? What band?" She questions Lucian in a flirty manner.  
Lucian points to the wording on her chest.  
"No kidding? I wasn't aware any of them had children. Now, I'm dying to know, which of them is your daddy?" She asks Raul.  
"Saul Martinez," Raul answers. Lucian smiles at the bartender through his glass.  
"Oh my God... Well I should have known, he looks a lot like him, and he definitely has those beautiful green eyes. So who are you? You the uncle or something?" She asks Lucian while making a drink for another customer.  
Lucian chuckles, "I wish. I'm the grandfather, Saul's father. My name is Lucian."  
"Get outta here! You made Saul? That's some fine work, daddy. I'm Tory," She nods to Calaen as she restocks her shelf, "How about you sugar? Who are you here to see?"  
"I am here with them, but to see my partner, Adrien," Calaen smiles and sips his drink.  
"Same band eh? And if I'm not mistaken, same family. Huh, well fancy that, I wasn't aware him and Nate broke up," she informs the men, wiping down the bar and throwing the towel over her shoulder.  
"Excuse me?" Calaen looks at her confused, remembering that Saul and Adrien we're going to meet up with everyone at Nate's.  
"Oh, yea, honey. Adrien was pretty private about it, but everyone knew, and Nate would openly show affection in public at times, or talk about their relationship. They were together for almost nine years, if I remember correctly." She lights a cigarette and pulls an ashtray over to her.  
The first band of four in the line up, Supposed Whore, sets up the stage. Some of the members from the other bands take their places at the bar until it is time for them to perform. Everyone from Bedlam Letters and Davenport Heroes partakes in drinking at the bar. Only one member, Zack, the lead singer from Dirty Jersey, is at the bar, the rest of them are checking their equipment and getting ready to set up since they are the second band in the line up tonight. "Where's Lily? I thought she wanted to come?" Adrien asks, taking the empty seat next to Calaen. "She changed her mind, said she had something else to do," Lucian responded for Calaen so he can chug his drink. As soon as he empties his glass, the voluptuous bartender has another full glass in front of him and he picks it up to sip. "Whoa, baby, what's with you. I haven't seen you drink like this," Adrien grabs the glass from Calaen and sets it back down on the bar. "I'm sorry, I guess I haven't noticed." Calaen runs his fingers through Adrien's shoulder length, pink hair playfully, then takes his glasses off of his face and puts them on himself. Adrien chuckles, "Babe, I need those to see. They look sexy on you though." Calaen rolls his eyes and giggles, handing the glasses back to Adrien. He looks behind Adrien to Saul, who happens to look back and meet Calaen's eyes. "What is it?" Adrien asks. He's looking at you," Calaen averts his eyes to a skater punk looking young man with messy blonde hair, wearing pillowed-rectangle framed glasses over his sandalwood hazel eyes, a green hooded sweatshirt and a pair of visibly worn jeans. Adrien follows Calaen's gaze to the young man and shakes it off, "So, he's our drummer, there is nothing wrong with that," Adrien meets Nate's stare with an apologetic look.

*** Three Hours Later***

Bedlam Letters begin setting up the stage. Calaen watches for interactions between Adrien and other members of the group, that would suggest who Nate is, and if there are any indications of a prior or existing relationship, "Excuse me," he calls to the bartender, "Which one is Nate?"  
"You see the tall, lanky guy with the messy blonde hair and glasses, in the green hoodie and blue jeans? That's Nate, he's their drummer," she points directly at Nate, who begins tuning his drums. Calaen recognizes him as the guy who was staring at Adrien.  
Adrien sets up a mic and mic stand in front of the drum kit, but Nate grabs the mic stand and makes a shooing motion with his hands as if to tell Adrien to go away. Adrien takes the mic stand back and points to the drums and Nate shakes his head as if to say 'no'. Adrien puts his hands on his hips and looks as though he is trying to have a serious conversation. Nate folds his arms across his chest, and projects other body language that suggests he is hurt and vulnerable. Adrien throws his hands up and walks away, grabbing the guitar amps.  
"Oh, yea, that relationship is definitely over," the bartender nods and giggles.  
Saul approaches Adrien, speaking to him in a relaxed manner. Adrien holds his left hand on his hip and his head down, nodding as he listens to Saul, then looks back toward Nate.  
They open with their first song. Adrien leads on guitar. The stage lights go down and only a few spot lights highlight the stage and the band members. Saul gets on the mic and his beautiful vocals ring throughout the entire venue. Raul watches in amazement that his father is the center of attention. Lucian watches proudly as his son and brother move about the stage. Calaen is seeing them perform for the first time, he watches Adrien play, moving his fingers up and down the neck of the guitar, bending his fingers quickly into the most ridiculous poses to hit the notes, but then he focuses his attention on Saul. Saul moves about the stage as if he owns it. His charisma and confidence ring out in his gestures and his beautiful voice. The lighting highlights him as if he were a God. Calaen's member starts to grow hard watching the performance. 

Despite the quarrel that may be happening back stage, the band performs really well together. The band members finish loading their instruments and other equipment back into the van. "We're all going back to my house to have some drinks and make some food if you and Adrien want to join," Nate offers Saul. "No, thank you. We will ride back to your place to get Saul's car, but then we really should take off," Adrien responds, "Besides, something tells me I'm probably not welcome." Nate inhales slow and deep, "Adrien, this is a genuine invite, I'm not just inviting you to be nice in front of everyone." Adrien sighs and hugs Nate, "We're still going to have to pass, but thank you." Nate returns the hug, putting his arms around Adrien, and they find comfort in holding one another. "We're good," Mike slams the back doors of the van closed and hops in the back seat followed by Saul, who picks up a few loose cables, and Jimmy. "Guess I'm riding shot-gun," Adrien chuckles to Nate.

Nate backs the van up as close to the garage as he can get, "You and Saul get your stuff out first, we'll unload the rest." Adrien nods and he and Saul exit the van, pull open the back doors and start pulling out Adrien's guitar, amp, control and distortion pedals, and cables. "You're not going to take any of your stuff?" Adrien asks on the way to the Toyota. "I really don't have anything. I'm lead vocals, he stores all the mics here anyway." Saul lifts the heavy amp into the back of his car, and ties it down with some bungee cord, while Adrien loads everything else into the back seat. They make one last trip back to the van, where the others are still unloading the rest of the equipment, to say good bye. "Thanks for letting us ride with you. Good show tonight," Saul fist-bumps the three men standing at the back of the van, "Take care." Adrien clasps hands with Jimmy, pulling him in for a bro-hug. He does the same for Mike, and Nate, but Nate unclasps his hand and wraps both of his arms around Adrien. Adrien returns the hug, "Good night, Nathaniel," he says before kissing Nate's forehead. Saul raises his brow in astonishment. The Martinez boys get into Saul's car. "So you and Nate were a couple this whole time, and you never bothered to tell me? I find out from Mike and Jimmy, after you two have already parted ways," Saul asks before starting the car. "Yes, I wasn't sure if you would find that acceptable, and I know how you hate for people to show affection in front of you," Adrien chuckles, "I'm sorry." Saul shakes his head and starts the car, then takes off, heading in the direction toward Lucian's.

Back at the house, Lucian and Calaen have prepared a midnight smorgasbord of snacks and finger foods. When Saul and Adrien enter the house, their senses are immediately aroused and engaged in fore-play. Five empty plates are set out on the table in the dining room, each accompanied by a specific drink, each person's favorite drink; A whiskey smash for Adrien, the scents of the fresh mint and lemon still linger in the air, a tequila sunrise for Saul, a monkey wrench for Lucian, a glass of Tuscan-Italian Sassicaia for Calaen, and a glass of Sprite with ice for Raul. They pass the living room, noticing Raul sleeping on the couch. Saul puts a blanket over him and kisses his head, as Adrien makes his way out to the kitchen to greet Lucian and Calaen. "What's all of this for?" Adrien asks the two men setting up platters in the kitchen. "Celebration of an excellent performance,"Lucian picks up two platters of snack foods, one is wanton cups of crab rangoon with guacamole, and the other with roasted tomato bruschetta bread, and sets them on the table in the dining room. Saul hugs his father and grabs the basket of mozzarella stuffed rolls, setting it on the table next to the wanton cups. Adrien quickly kisses Calaen's lips while they are alone in the kitchen, then takes a platter of assorted cheese and crackers out to the table. Raul climbs down off of the couch. He comes into the dining room rubbing his eyes, "Daddy? Uncle Adje?" "Hey buddy," Saul picks his son up to hug him and kiss his cheek. "Did you like the show?" Raul nods his response, rubbing his eyes again. "He fell asleep in the car on the way home," Lucian sets a bowl of chips and pretzels mix on the table in case Raul decides to join them. "You wanna have some snacks with us?" Saul asks his son. "I'm tired." Raul leans against the wall. "Ok bud, let's go up to bed," Saul guides his son upstairs. Raul veers off and goes into the bathroom at the top of the stairs. Saul stands by his bedroom door waiting for him to finish. He hears the toilet flush and the sink faucet begin running water, which stops running when Saul silently counts to twenty, a trick he taught Raul to time how long to wash his hands. The door opens and Raul exits the bathroom, turning the light on the wall to the off position, then making his way to his bedroom where his father waits for him. Saul helps his son into his bed, tucks him in under his blankets, and kisses his cheek, "Good night Raul, I love you." "Good night dad, I love you too." Raul is asleep before Saul can exit the room.

Saul comes down the stairs and joins the party at the table. "I want to raise a glass to Saul and Adrien. I spent so much time treating both of you like children and celebrating Sal's accomplishments, that I never took time to realize that you both have accomplished so much," Lucian announces. Saul stands to hug his father, "Thanks, dad." He takes a bite of the crab rangoon wanton cup, and although the smell is vividly delicious, it doesn't taste the way he expected it to. Upon finishing the wanton cup, his stomach begins to turn a bit. Thinking it was just the taste that got to him, he takes a sip of his drink, and helps himself to the bruschetta bread, but it too tastes very bland. He looks around at everyone else enjoying the food. "Lucian, I must say, this is the most delicious treat I have ever had, and I've tasted a lot," he hears Calaen compliment his father's cooking. "Bro, did you make all of this?" Adrien asks. "No, Calaen is quite the chef himself. He made the bruschetta bread, and he helped me make the stuffed dough for the rolls," Saul hears his father's response to Adrien. The color begins to drain from his face and sweat begins to form lightly on his skin. Feeling faint and nauseous, he looks to Adrien, then to Lucian. "Saul? Are you ok?" Adrien calls to him. Saul looks to Calaen, who gives him some comfort with his calm expression. Saul heaves and vomits on the floor where he stands. His heart rate becomes faster, his veins in his hands and arms stick out more prominently as his muscles tighten to fight the uncomfortable feeling. The sounds in the room drown under the sound of his own heart beat. He can see their mouths moving but he can't hear what they are saying as they talk at him and to one another. Pain pricks his gums in the areas that the top and bottom lateral teeth grow into fangs. Calaen grabs Saul, "I'll take him to his room and give him medical attention." He pulls Saul off of the floor and begins to help him up the stairs, where Saul vomits again. Saul points to his bedroom door and Calaen assists him to his bed. Scared, Lucian grabs Adrien, "What is going on? What is happening to my son?" He's sick bro. He wasn't feeling well earlier and then he gave one hell of a performance. Probably just made him sicker. He needs rest," Adrien reconciles.

In Saul's bedroom, Calaen lays Saul in the bed and takes off his shoes. He notices Saul's eye color changes from bright green to sunrise yellow and his hair begins to deviate to a more reddish tone of his chestnut color, "You're dark form..." He whispers to Saul. He lifts Saul's shirt and begins unfastening his pants, allowing his eyes to take in Saul's muscular abdomen. Sliding the pants over his hips slowly, he reveals the sleek boxer briefs, cupping his large package, and jogging his memory of when he brushed against it earlier today. Pulling the pants down further, he gazes upon Saul's muscular legs an notices a three inch scar of his left thigh. The door opens, "Everything ok, babe? What are you doing?" Adrien looks in on them. Calaen quickly finishes pulling Saul's pants off and covers him with a blanket, "Everything is fine, just getting him comfortable so he can rest." "He couldn't handle it; you drinking from him," Adrien scoffs. "He'll be ok, he just needs to rest. He is not used to it. I'm sorry," Calaen remains seated on Saul's bed next to him, "I'll be down in a minute, then we can go." Adrien leaves the room and shuts the door behind him. Calaen exhales and begins to stand, but Saul grabs his hand before it leaves the bed. The newly changed vampire looks to his creator with his deep yellow eyes and smirks, "You want me." "Rest Saul, I'll explain everything to you soon," Calaen tucks him in and kisses his head. Saul sits up, "Come on," he scoffs, "I feel fine," he tells Calaen, still holding his hand. "Rest, Saul, and try not to let anyone see you like this," Calaen gets up and leaves the room. Saul punches the bed and then the wall. Calaen stops half way down the stairs and turns around, making his way back to Saul's room. "What?" He stands in the doorway of the bedroom. "What's happening to me? What do you mean don't let anyone see me like this? Like what?" Saul starts spitting questions at Calaen. "It's ok, slow down. I am... a vampire. I turned you, and you are currently in your dark form," Calaen starts explaining before he is cut off by Saul. "So, am I hideous in this dark form? You do know vampires aren't real, why would you joke with me like this?" Saul raises his whisper, still trying to remain quiet while having, what he considers, a psychotic conversation. "No, you are beautiful, but you look a bit different from how you did look, like your eye and hair color changed. This isn't a joke, vampires are real... you're one of them, and I'm not crazy, so stop looking at me like that," Calaen raises his whisper in return. "Feel your teeth." Saul takes his advice and puts his finger in his mouth running it over his teeth to feel that sharp fangs now occupy where his lateral teeth were on both the top and bottom rows. Calaen reaches his hand out for Saul to take it and he pulls him to the full body mirror in the corner of his bedroom to reveal he shows no reflection. "What the fuck did you do to me?" Saul begins to cry. "I told you while it was happening and you agreed to it," Calaen touches Saul's face and thumbs a tear away that had fallen. "For fuck's sake, I thought we were just having dirty sex, that I couldn't last long enough for." Saul brings his knees up and wraps his arms around them. "Don't worry, you are not the first who has found pleasure in me drinking from you. For some, they see it as a very intimate process," Calaen explains to reassure Saul of any insecurities. "Hmmm, so I'm no different than anyone else you have drank from. That makes me feel great," Saul uses snarky sarcasm to to cover his embarrassment, "Why didn't you just let me die then? Why turn me?" "For your family," Calaen responds, "And you weren't like everyone else, your blood is sweeter." "You want me," Saul pushes again. Calaen smiles, "From what I hear, you have more than enough sex, you don't need to add me to the list. I'm not really into the whole one night stand thing. I've got eternity, I would at least like to spend a life time with someone. Now, rest." "Who said anything about a one night stand?" Saul's smile gleams with his confidence. "Are you saying that you can commit to being my eternal lover?" Calaen rebuts with a question. "Ok, so if I'm a vampire," Saul changes the subject. "You are..." Calaen cuts in. "Then tell me, when will I need to feed?" Saul asks. "If you don't want to vamp out and drain the first person you see, I suggest you feed when you start feeling hungry," Calaen retorts. "What about sunlight?" "It won't hurt you, but you will be more sensitive to it, so, small doses." "How about garlic? And holy water? Stake to the heart?" "Garlic will make you sick, but high doses of it will make anyone sick, holy water is a myth, and if you get stabbed or shot it may hurt, but you'll live. If someone hacks your head off, yes you will die, otherwise, you are immortal," Calaen pulls the blankets back up over Saul. "Now, rest," he says with his face so close to Saul's, Saul smirking back at him. He kisses Saul's head, looks in Saul's eyes, then kisses his lips.

Calaen makes his way back down stairs, "He is resting, shall we go?" "I'm not going anywhere until I know my nephew will be ok," Adrien remarks, sitting on the couch, channel surfing for something to watch on the television. "Can I talk to you?" Calaen beckons Adrien to follow him to the back porch. Adrien gets up and follows Calaen out to the back porch and shuts the door behind him. He folds his arms across his chest and shifts his weight to his right hip, "What do you want to talk about?" "First, what's going on with you? Saul is going to be fine. Stop looking at me like I hurt him purposely. You know what I am, and you are with me because you know I would never hurt anyone." Calaen grabs Adrien's hand. Adrien relaxes and smiles, "Ok. baby, I'm sorry. I should trust you. I just have had a rough night and I wasn't thinking straight." "Second, let's talk about Nate," Calaen folds his arms across his chest and leans against the porch column. "What about Nate? Did Saul say something to you when you were up here with him?" Adrien sits on the bench against the wall. "No, the bartender at the venue did. I watched your interactions with him. That man is hurt, he's broken. Did you do that?" Calaen sits on the bench with him, "I want to know who Nate is to you, and I want to know why you hurt him so bad." "Nate was my lover. We were together for almost nine years. I broke up with him, not long before I met you. I felt that we had been growing apart for some time, but it was me. I was changing and I wanted different things. He didn't change, he only bettered who he was. I guess I just got bored with him. I know that sounds horrible to say, but it felt like we were stuck, like we weren't going anywhere, like we were tied down. And with work schedules, and practice... It just got too... much," Adrien lifts his glasses to wipe a tear from his eye, "Sorry." "It's fine. You still love him..." Calaen sighs heavily. "Part of me will always love him, I mean, over eight years is a long time to spend with someone," Adrien sets his glasses atop his head to wipe more tears away. "It's just... it's hard to get through, especially since I still have to be face to face with him often. I just didn't want him to take it so hard. I didn't want to hurt him like that." "And now you have me to hold at night to make the insecurities and guilt go away, but who does he have to make his pain go away? His pillow and a memory of you?" Calaen lays out his perspective. Adrien's tears come faster as he begins to sob, "Ok, enough. I get it. I'm trying to remain friends with him." "As for, Saul. Does he fancy men?" Calaen pries. "What?" Adrien removes more tears from his face, "No he's straight, he sleeps with a lot of women, I doubt he's ever been with a man." "Do you think it's possible that he sleeps with a lot of women because he can't find one to fill the void, to satisfy him?" Calaen asks. "Look, my nephew has his issues, he lost his mother when he was nine years old." Adrien defends Saul. "So did Sal, but he seems to be doing well for himself," Calaen counters. "Saul watched it happen though. It happened on a Friday. Sal was spending the night at a friend's house, Lucian was at work, and I was at my mother's. Just after Paula put Saul to bed, someone broke into the house. No car was in the driveway, so the intruder must have thought that no one was home. When he got into the kitchen and saw Paula, it probably surprised him. I guess he must have come up behind her, anyway, Saul said he heard his mother scream and he went down stairs. When he got down there the man was stabbing Paula. He said he charged at the man and the man attacked him. Saul told me he was able to get the knife away, but not before he was beaten and stabbed in the leg, the guy broke Saul's arm, a rib, and fractured his leg." Adrien's description provokes Calaen's recent memory of pulling Saul's pants off and seeing the scar on his thigh. "He said the guy fell to the ground when Saul attacked him, and he picked up a big turkey platter they used to serve the turkey on during Thanksgiving, and he smashed it over the guy's head. He said he was trying to save his mom like in the movies, but she wouldn't wake up. When Lucian came in about ten minutes later, he found the guy unconscious on the floor and Saul sitting on the floor with his dead mother's head in his lap, crying. The boy has issues. Maybe he takes so many women to bed because he can't find a woman that compares to his mother," Adrien confirms. Calaen looks up to the window he has guessed to be Saul's window, "He went through all that at such a young age? I didn't realize he had it that bad. I'm sorry. Maybe you are right. Maybe he is comparing them to his mother." "Oh you mean all the ladies that go in my daddy's bedroom? Yea, there's a different one all the time," Raul stands up from below the porch, where he was petting the cat. "Raul, what are you doing out here? I thought you went to bed," Adrien sits up and pats the spot on the bench next to him, "Come up here with us, so we can keep an eye on you." Raul comes up on to the porch and sits on the bench next to Adrien, "Don't cry, Uncle Adje, we all still love you." Raul hugs his uncle, who gets a chuckle out of Raul's cute gesture. "I woke up when I heard daddy bang something in his room. I sneaked down here to pet the kitty," the young boy tells them. "So daddy has a lot of women in his room?" Calaen asks. Adrien sucks his teeth and shakes his head at Calaen, as if to tell him not to ask Raul questions like that. "Yea, and sometimes a man. I think it's the same man every time, but he only comes over when everyone else is asleep, after the ladies go home. I heard daddy call him Jake," Raul pulls a toy car out of his pocket and begins running it on the bench. "They must lose each other in the room or something," Raul ponders, remembering what he has heard coming from his father's bedroom when Jake is visiting. Adrien raises a brow, "Why's that?" "They call each other a lot. I always hear daddy saying 'Oh Jake, Oh Jake, yea, just like that,' and Jake will say 'Oh Saul, I love you,' then daddy will say 'I love you too, baby.' That must mean they are best friends, right?" Calaen raises his brow and smirks, "Does the name Jake ring a bell with anyone you and Saul might know?" "Jacob Russo. Tall, beautiful toned athletic body, frosted blonde hair, baby blue eyes, petite narrow nose, soft jaw-line and chin, perfect smile, popular prep, captain of the foot ball team in high school, guy I used to go home and think about while I masturbated, even called his name out when climaxing," Adrien shakes his head, "There's no way..." "What?" The last part of Adrien's description catches Calaen off guard. "He'd be about twenty-eight now, but yea, I know him. He still lives in the area too," Adrien recalls, preoccupied and jealous by the image of Jacob and Saul sleeping with one another dancing through his thoughts. "As far as I knew, Jacob was straight too, and sleeps with a lot of women... like Saul." Adrien puts his finger to his lip and furrows his brow, "You know, come to think of it, I have been out and about with Saul, and we have run into Jacob. He and Saul act civil, like friends. He even asked about Raul, by name. Although, I thought it was funny that they interact at all, being so different. I mean, Saul and I are are very similar, and Jacob wouldn't stop and talk to me on the street. I'm lucky if I even get a 'hello' from him in passing." "It's not uncommon, they are hiding it. They are both popular figures in the community or around the world, and by sleeping with many women it gives the facade that they are straight, but really they are sleeping with one another, when no one is around. They keep it a secret. They probably don't take any other men to bed, because they are in some kind of committed relationship, but I think something is going sour in that relationship. Maybe Saul is tired of playing gentleman caller, and perhaps he is feeling guilty sleeping with all of those women, maybe he is jealous of the women that Jacob is sleeping with because he can't announce that Jacob is his lover, or perhaps they have gone through a bad break up, like you and Nate." "Can we not mention that... Like ever again?" Adrien looks down to see that Raul has fallen asleep on his lap, "Ok little one, let's get you to bed." Adrien carries Raul up the stairs and tucks him into his bed. He meets Calaen at the top of the stairs, "Sal's room is empty. We can sleep in there," Adrien winks at Calaen, making his lover smile enough to reveal his pretty white fangs. Adrien pulls Calaen to him and kisses him passionately, closing his lips over Calaen's and then opening again to lick at his lover's lips and tongue.

Entangled in one another's kiss, the lovers make their way to Sal's bed. Adrien lays Calaen down and climbs up his body until he mounts him comfortably. Calaen watches as Adrien takes off his jacket, pulling his fine toned arms out of the sleeves. His soft pink hair falls in front of his face when he removes his glasses. Adrien can feel Calaen's member hardening under him and he leans in to kiss his lips, grinding his pelvis against Calaen's erection. "Should we really be doing this in your brother's house? In your nephew's bed?" Calaen moans. "Why not? My brother isn't going to care, and Sal disowned this bed when he moved out," Adrien smirks, "Besides, it's not like it's going to be dirty just because we make love on it once." Calaen rolls his eyes at Adrien, who takes off his tee-shirt, revealing his slim but toned abdomen, "Fine, I'll wash the bedding if I cum on it." Excited, Adrien begins unfastening the buckles and buttons on Calaen's pants, who in turn tugs at Adrien's pants. "Then, I guess you will inevitably be washing some bedding," Calaen chuckles as he opens his partner's pants and reaches in to pull out his stiff dick. "Unless you can cum on me." Adrien gets up off of the bed and pulls his pants and boxer shorts off. Calaen sits up to remove his jacket and his shirt, then lays down, lifting his hips to pull his pants down to reveal his large erect member. He waves his hand, beckoning Adrien to come to him. The guitarist with flexible fingers and precise coordination climbs onto his partner slowly, pushing his legs open to kiss his muscular inner thighs moving proximal toward his body. Placing two fingers to gently rub around Calaen's entrance, places his lips on Calaen's sweet sac, and begins kissing and licking, until he works his way up to the tip of his lover's dick. He swirls his tongue around at the tip, spreading Calaen's pre-cum around the head before completely engulfing the master vampire's member in his mouth and taking it to the back of his throat, while shoving his two fingers, that were playing at his entrance, inside of him.  
Calaen bites his lip hard to muffle his moans, causing his fangs to pierce through the skin. Grabbing hold of Adrien's head, he pushes to force is cock deep into Adrien's throat, causing the man to choke and gag. Adrien slowly pulls his mouth up the shaft, to the tip, giving some suction at the tip before it pops out of his mouth. Grabbing Adrien by the shoulders, Calaen pulls him up on top of him, then asserts his dominance, flipping him on his back and mounting him. He rubs his dick against Adrien's in a slow and steady motion. Looking into his partner's eyes, he nods and smirks, grabbing hold of Adrien and pulling the guitarist with him as he levitates to the ceiling. With Adrien's back pushed up against the ceiling, Calaen uses his knee to push Adrien's leg out and places himself at Adrien's entrance. So wet with pre-cum, Caelen's dick slides right in. Stopping briefly to allow his lover to adjust to the sensation. "Go," Adrien commands. Calaen begins thrusting into Adrien, who gently guides him with his hands on Calaen's hips. Calaen kisses Adrien, his fang pricking his lip. "God damn me, you are so good... Nnnnnaaaaagggghhhhh... Faster," Calaen pulls out and holds Adrien as he puts his back to the ceiling and gets behind him. Adrien places his feet over Calaen's for standing support, while Calaen pushes himself into Adrien. He moves in and out slowly. "Uhhnnnnn, Cae..." Adrien moans as Calaen grinds his hips allowing his dick to grind against Adrien's prostate. "Cae... Aaaaahhhhhhnnnnng, I'm cumming." Adrien ejaculates, with the first shot landing on Sal's pillow, and the rest falling onto Sal's comforter. Calaen continues to grind inside of Adrien, "Since you're going to wash the bedding anyway..." Calaen pulls out and lets his cum fall between Adrien's legs, onto the comforter below. He lowers his human partner down gently to the floor, kissing his lips. Adrien looks at the bed, "You know, it would have been so much easier if I just had to wash the comforter." "Yea, but you came on the pillow and the cover sheet," Calaen points out. Adrien feels the sheet, "Huh, I guess it did spill over here too." He pulls the sheets, blankets, and pillows off of the bed and carries them downstairs to the laundry room.

Saul opens his eyes and is relieved to see that he is in his own bedroom. Sunlight pours in the window at the head of his bed, causing him to squint through the pain and sensitivity. He finally pulls the covers over his head and reaches his arm out to grab the alarm clock off of his night stand and pull it under the blankets with him. The clock reads digitally, ten:eleven. Saul pushes the clock back out from under the blankets, letting it fall to the floor, "Ugh." Hearing the thump of the clock hitting the floor, Calaen runs up the stairs, arriving almost instantly by using his vampiric speed, to check on Saul, "How are you feeling?" "I'm fine," Saul calls out from under the blankets. Laughing, Calaen tries to rouse Saul from his bed, "Come on, it's not that bad. Get up," he pulls the blankets off of Saul. "You gonna sleep all day, princess?" Adrien enters the room and slaps Saul's ankle. "That's the plan. Now, get out!" Saul pulls the blankets back over him. "He's lively isn't he," Adrien scoffs. "No I'm not. Not anymore, and I'm starving." Saul pulls the blankets over his head. "Uh huh," Adrien leans against the wall, "You turned him, didn't you?" "I took too much," Calaen turns his face away from Adrien. Adrien sighs, "Damn it. Ok, kid, let's get you some nourishment." He turns to Calaen, "I started to become suspicious of you nursing him the way you did." "Hmmm, keep your temper, jealous one," Calaen playfully slaps Adrien's ass. Adrien pulls the covers off of Saul, "Now, Nosferatu. Let's go!" Saul sluggishly crawls out of the bed, shaking his head at his uncle. He makes his way to his bathroom to shower, grabbing a towel off of the towel rack as he passes it. "He can't be that hungry, if he is taking his sweet time like this." Adrien sits in the chair across from Saul's bed and points to the bed, "That is a very, very dirty bed," he giggles. "Babe, give me his phone off the dresser, there." Calaen hands the phone over to Adrien, "What are you doing with his phone?" Adrien opens the phone with no protective password on it and begins scrolling through his contacts. He stops at 'Jacob Russo' and shows the phone's face to Calaen. "I'm calling him," Adrien presses the call button and puts the phone on speaker, low so Saul won't be able to hear it over the shower water running. "Hey, Saul." The voice over the phone says. "Hi Jacob, it's Adrien, you remember me?" "Um, oh, yea, I know who you are. You're Saul's cousin, right?" Jake guesses. Adrien gives a mirthless chuckle, "Yea, I'm his uncle, but whatever. Say Jake, you want to meet us over at the BiBi's cafe?" "What is this about?" Jake questions in a suspicious tone. "Oh nothing, just to hang out. Saul is in the shower right now, but I know he's down for meeting up. Let's say in about thirty minutes?" Jake hesitates before answering, "Yea, sure. I...I'll be there." "Great, see you soon," Adrien hangs up the phone and hands it back to Calaen. "He hesitated at the end, he agreed to go, but it sounded like he was a little down about it. Maybe you shouldn't have done that." Calaen puts the phone back on the dresser. 

A squeaking of the faucet sounds and the shower water shuts off. Calaen and Adrien can hear Saul singing softly to himself. The hair dryer kicks on and Adrien looks to Calaen and extends his hand out toward the bathroom door and lets his mouth fall open, "Ugh! Why?" After fifteen minutes in the bathroom styling his hair and brushing his teeth, Saul finally emerges into his room with only a towel wrapped around him. "You were in there that whole time, and you're not even dressed," Adrien narrows his eyes at his nephew. "No... I had to do my hair, and put on my lotion, cologne, and deodorant, then I have to floss and brush my teeth..." Saul answers, like Adrien should know this routine, then turns around to open his dresser. "I take it back, you and Jacob are perfect for each other," Adrien mumbles as he throws his hand up and turns away. Saul's senses sharpen, and his head throbs momentarily along with the pain in his chest, "What... Did you... Just say?" "Oh, you heard something? I didn't say anything. I have no idea what you are talking about," Adrien chuckles as he turns around to face his nephew. Saul slams his dresser drawer without breaking eye contact then walks down the hall to Sal's room, slamming the door behind him. "How did he hear that?" "His senses are heightened in his new form. I probably should have told you that," Calaen informs him. "Well now I know his soft spot," Adrien shrugs, "Hurry up, we're going down to the cafe," he calls down the hall. Saul comes out of Sal's room dressed in a light casual black jacket over a white polo, a pair of dark blue skinny jeans with a studded belt, and his usual accessories, the thin silver chain around his neck, his small diamond studs in his ears, his watch, and the white gold band he wore on his wedding ring finger that was part of a set to which Jake wore the identical matching band on his wedding ring finger.

The good thing about living in a small town is convenience. Everything is close, and BiBi's Cafe is only a few blocks away from the house, in the uptown district. Saul gets into the driver's seat and starts his car. When Adrien opens the front passenger door, Saul shakes his head. "What?"Adrien stops before getting into the seat. "You're in the back, I'd rather have Calaen up front with me." Adrien looks at Calaen, shakes his head, and scoffs at his nephew's stubbornness. Calaen shrugs as he switches places with Adrien for the front seat. Noon on a Sunday is a pretty busy time for the little cafe. Employees and customers of the retail businesses surrounding the cafe stop in for lunch or snacks, Church goers stop in after congregation, and unemployed high school students meet up with their friends for coffee and pastries. Saul, Adrien, and Calaen enter the cafe and seek out an empty booth. Saul notices a group of athletic looking high school seniors in the booth next to them drinking coffee and bantering about Friday night's high school football game. He closes his eyes, and his memory takes him back to when he was a freshman in high school, hearing Jake and his team mates boast about their winnings in the cafe. The scent of blood quickly disrupts his thoughts and provokes his hunger further. He opens his eyes, that have now changed to sunrise yellow in wake of his hunger.  
"Jared, what's the game plan for next Friday's game against the Upstate Bears?" A tall, heavy built teenager with brown hair, cut in a fade style ask his peer, who is portrayed to be the team's captain.  
Jared is of medium height and fairly muscular for his age. He has green eyes, sports an IVY league cut for his blonde hair, and is dressed in name brand designer clothing. "Hang on, I gotta go take a leak. We'll discuss it when I come back."  
Saul follows Jared to the bathroom and stands at the urinal next to the young athlete. He urinates what little he can, as his eyes scout the bathroom for any other patrons who may be present. When he concludes that he and Jared are alone in the bathroom, he shakes the last drop of urine from his dick, puts it back into his pants, then washes his hands, allowing Jared to finish urinating. Jared walks over to the sink to wash his hands as Saul grabs a paper towel to dry his, watching Jared in his peripheral vision. He grabs the young athlete by the shoulders and pushes him against the wall, making compelling eye contact with him. Jared fights only briefly before giving in to Saul's alluring intoxication, and allowing Saul to pierce and drink him.

Jake enters the cafe and sees Adrien and Calaen at a booth across the cafe. He walks over to greet them, "Hey. Adrien, right?" Adrien reaches his hand out to shake Jake's, noticing that the ring on his finger is identical to the one Saul has been wearing for the last eight or nine years, "Yea, man." "I remember you now that I see you, from school," Jake recalls, "I thought Saul was coming." "Of course you ask for him," Adrien mumbles to himself, "He's here. He's in the bathroom,"Adrien answers Jake, holding a malicious smirk. Jake looks to Calaen, a well groomed, sweet smelling, beautiful man sitting across from him, then looks back to Adrien, "What is this about? Why did you call me and invite me here?" Jake pushes his nervousness down and smiles his beautiful smile, "Hi. I don't think I've met you. I'm Jake Russo. Are you a friend of Adrien and Saul?" Calaen smiles at Jake in return, "Nice to meet you Jake. I am Calaen La Torre, Adrien's lover." Calaen can see the relief in Jake's eyes after he realizes that Calaen is with Adrien. "Congrats," Jake extends a warm and genuine well wish. "Thanks," Adrien acknowledges, "I called to invite you here to catch up. It's been a while hasn't it. You and Saul are friends, right?" Adrien asks. "Yea," Jake nods his head, "Of course." He gets up from the booth, "I have to use the bathroom, be right out." Jake pushes the door open, entering the bathroom to see Saul with his body up against some teenager's, sucking on his neck. "Saul?" Jake calls, but Saul ignores him, draining the last drop to satisfy his hunger. "I see you have moved on and found yourself a younger partner," Jake balls his fists and turns away from the scene. "Is this what you had your uncle call me and invite me here to see?" Jake raises his voice. Saul lifts his head from the unconscious teenager's neck and tosses the body aside, "Jake? What? I didn't have my uncle call you," Saul wipes the remaining blood from his mouth, "I...I'm sorry you had to see that." "What the fuck? Did you just drink blood from that little teeny-bopper? Being a rock-star with an image isn't enough? You have to do crazy things too? Is that what your little fans are into these days, having you play vampire with them?" Jake backs up toward the door. "No, Jake, wait," Saul grabs Jake's arm and pulls him into him, restraining him from behind, then eases to the floor, holding Jake. "Get off of me! What kind of sick perverted sex fetishes are you into?" Jake tries to fight his way out of Saul's arms, but he can feel Saul has gotten stronger. "Jake, look at me, please," Saul begs. Jake relaxes his muscles and turns around to face Saul. "What happened to your green eyes? Are you wearing contacts?" Saul chuckles at Jake's question, allowing Jake to glimpse his fangs. Jake gasps and runs his thumb over Saul's teeth to gauge the veridity of the fangs, "Oh my God, they're real... Vampires are real?" Saul lets go of Jake and nods his head, "I didn't mean to take that kid like that." "I'm really freaked out right now, Saul," Jake admits. "Look it was nothing sexual, I needed to feed. He'll be alright, I didn't completely drain him," Saul argues his excuse, running his hand through Jake's frosted blonde, sporty Levi's cut hair. Jake pulls away from Saul's hand, "Stop." "Jake, we need to talk. It's been a while since we have had any interaction," Saul nudges. "No, we don't need to talk. The only thing we need to acknowledge is that you're a fucking monster and I'm not. I'm walking out that door, Saul, and I am not looking back," Jake stands up, pulls the ring off of his finger and drops it on the floor in front of Saul. "Monsters have feelings too," Saul's comment is not well received in the current context. "Whatever," Jake turns toward the door. " "After ten fucking years, you can just walk away? I lost my virginity to you. You were my first for everything. I love you, Jake. Yet, we had to play cover up to society. It's ok to take tons of women to bed, or at least act like we do, but we can't be seen or even known to have sexual relations with one another. Why? Because we are both men? I'm fucking sick of it! I watch you attend my shows, with women all over you. You take one home, sometimes more, then you show up at my house at two o'clock in the fucking morning. I just wanted you, Jake. I got tired of living the single life and sleeping with a different chick every night," Saul rants, feeling his grip on his lover slipping. "If you don't love me, then I'm ready to move on," Saul makes eye contact with Jake, his eyes changing back to their original bright green as they fill with tears. "We can't do that. We will be looked down upon. Saul, I love you..." Jake shakes his head and corrects himself, "Loved you, but I'm afraid to open our relationship like that," Jake explains. "Besides, you're the one who had a fucking kid, and had the girl staying with you on and off," Jake raises his voice. "God damn it, I didn't know what the fuck I was doing. I was sixteen and tired after a show. I made a mistake. I pled with her to have an abortion, but she wouldn't do it. You knew I wasn't in any relationship with her. I hung out with her for my son, and I got rid of her didn't I? You said you were ok with that, so why are you bringing it up now? I thought we could be like roomies, or maybe even like a family." Saul pulls his knees to his chest. "Yes, I remember, I told you to let her have the baby and we will raise it as our child, but we didn't spend time together like that. I'm sorry Saul. I thought that I would get the courage up to ask you to move in with me, but the truth is, I don't know if that's a good idea with the way we have been living, and I'm kind of scared to raise a child with our lifestyles. We have too much going on in our lives." Jake kneels down in front of Saul, runs his hand through the young man's hair, and kisses his head quickly. He watches a tear fall from Saul's eye and exits the bathroom before his pain causes his tears to spill.

"They've been in there for a while now," Calaen points out to Adrien.  
"Yea," Adrien smirks, "You think they're fucking?"  
Calaen slaps Adrien on the arm, giggling, "Oh, stop."  
Jake comes out of the bathroom, pauses to look at Adrien and Calaen in the booth, then walks out of the cafe.  
"I better go check on Saul, That didn't look too happy," Adrien gets up.  
"I think Jake was crying," Calaen points out.  
"Yea, that's what I thought too," Adrien walks away from the table and heads toward the bathroom.  
"Saul?" Adrien walks in the bathroom to find Saul sitting on the floor hugging his knees to his chest with his head down.  
"You did this... You went through my phone and called him to invite him out, hoping he would catch me feeding, so he could see me for the monster that I have become," Saul speaks softly in between his hyperventilation.  
Adrien puts his arm around Saul, "I did call him, but not for that, I really wanted you to work things out with him and be happy."  
Saul looks up and pushes his uncle off of him, "How did you even know I was with him?"  
"If you want to keep something quiet, you don't have loud sex next to a room that has a very attentive child in it." Saul furrows his brow and shakes his head. "I heard it from Raul," Adrien stands and brushes his pants off. "Don't worry, Calaen and I are the only ones he has told. So, uh, how long?"  
"What?" Saul wipes the tears from his face.  
"How long have you and Jake been 'seeing' each other?" Adrien asks.  
"Ten years and four months," Saul retorts, opening his hand to reveal the ring Jake had left behind.  
"Since, high school? Saul, you were only fourteen then?" His uncle points out the obvious, "Is that the ring he was wearing? Was it some symbol of your commitment to one another?"  
Saul nods his head, "He was my first," Saul stands, puts the ring in his pocket, and turns on the sink to splash cold water on his face.  
Calaen enters the bathroom, "We should probably go. There is an unconscious kid on the floor who's table is wondering where he is, they're going to come in here looking for him, and we've had the booth this whole time but never ordered anything.  
Saul dries his face with a paper towel, throws it in the trash, and narrows his eyes in irritation at Calaen as he passes him on the way out.

The ride home is quiet, aside from an occasional sniffle from Saul. He pulls the car in front of Calaen's house. "Babe, you can get out of the car if you want. I'm staying with him until he calms down," Adrien announces loud enough for Saul to hear. "No you are not. I don't need you to babysit me, you'll just find another way to make my life worse... death worse... whatever the fuck I am now. So stay away," Saul leans over his uncle and pulls the door handle to open the door, then pushes his uncle until he gets out of the car. "Fine, I'll go," Adrien gets out of the car and slams the door shut. Calaen opens the back door and hesitates. "What are you waiting for?" Saul urges. A tear falls down Calaen's cheek, "I'm really sorry. I never wanted to hurt you." "I don't want to hear it... Good bye."  
Calaen gets out of the car. Saul can see him put his hand to his face and Adrien hug him in the rear view mirror as he drives away. He sighs and rolls his eyes, "What the fuck is he crying for? He doesn't even know me." Saul takes his phone out of his jacket pocket and dials one of his recent contacts, "Hey Lucian, I'm with Adrien and Calaen. Would you mind keeping Raul for a while today?" He listens to the response, "I know dad... OK... Thanks. I'll call you in a bit."

Saul parks his car in the parking lot across from the Shamrock Pub. He pulls the abandoned ring back out of his pocket and inhales deeply, with tears filling his eyes again, then clasps it in his fist and gets out of the car. Putting the ring back in his pocket, he crosses the street, enters the pub and leans on the bar, "Tequila and lime." The bartender nods to acknowledge Saul's request while he fills a mug for another drunken patron. Sports Now, a local channel displays team members arriving in the locker room of the stadium before the game. The idea is that they will get to interview some of the team members to get a feel of how the game will go, but usually none of the team members feel like talking. Saul gives the television his undivided attention.  
Male reporter on the television, "Here comes Team Captain and Quarter Back, number Fifty-Three, Jake Russo. Mr. Russo, can you tell us how you think this afternoon's game will go?"  
Jake looks into the camera with his blue eyes, red and bloodshot, and his face damp and flushed. He shakes his head and walks away, sniffling.  
Male reporter on the television, "Uh-oh folks, either it's going to be a bad game or the team lead is sick, which will lead to a bad game."  
Saul feels anger rising in him as the reporter continues to pick at Jake, keeping the camera focused on him for a reaction. He chugs his drink, leaves his tip on the bar under his empty glass, and runs out of the doors to his car.

The stadium is only a fifteen minute drive for Saul from the bar. He arrives and parks behind the stadium. Hopping the fence and entering through the back door that leads to the shower room is the easiest way for him to gain entrance. There is a large, bald security officer standing near the corridor to the locker room with 'Staff' written in purple on his black tee-shirt. Saul walks by, in hopes that officer isn't even paying attention, but the big guy quickly follows Saul, "I need to see your badge, sir." Saul ignores his request, "Sir, if you don't have an authorized badge, you need to leave," the man warns Saul, but Saul keeps walking down the corridor, almost to the locker room. The security officer grabs Saul's shoulder, giving Saul a force to flow with as he turns and swings his other fist, hitting the officer in the jaw. He then takes a rib shot with his now freed fist. The officer pushes Saul's front side up against the wall. Thinking he has detained the intruder, Saul throws a back snap kick, hitting the officer in his balls. Caught off guard, the officer hunches over and Saul pushes away from the wall and turns around to punch the officer in the bridge of his nose, knocking the officer down. Saul makes his way into the locker room, where the reporter is still pestering Jake, "Hey! You wanna know how the game's gonna go?" "Saul?" Jake whispers to himself. Saul walks right up to the reporter and lays the him out with one punch. He grabs the camera lens and pulls it for a close up on his face, "Did you get that, you fucker?" Just as Saul drops the camera and lays out the camera man, the city and stadium police bust in and tackle him. They put him in handcuffs and pull him up off of the floor, nudging him to move forward. He looks back at Jake and makes eye contact with him briefly before he is escorted out of the locker room. Reporters and photographers, who were on site for the game, now draw their attention to the rock-star being escorted out of the stadium in handcuffs. The police confiscate his phone, his wallet, all of his jewelery, including the ring on his finger, and the ring that was in his pocket, before putting him into the car. He can hear his phone ringing in the front, "Hey, can you tell me who is calling me?" A burly police man with aviator shades, a crew cut, and a beard covering his large square jaw-line and chin, lifts the phone out of the console to look at it, "Caller I.D. says Lucian." "That's my father. Is there anyway you can let me take that?" Saul pleas. "Sorry guy. You'll have to wait until you get to the station to make your call," the officer responds.

Saul sits on a bench in the station. The whole place smells like a brewing coffee pot. There is a front clerk wearing a brown and red plaid, knee length skirt and a brown sweater, with her auburn hair held back by a large brown clip, typing up documents. A row of desks behind her are occupied by on duty officers working on specific cases. He has full view of a television tuned to the news channel, replaying his incident. "Hi, John. Tricia Dawn here. I'm on the scene at the the Tiger's Stadium, where, not long ago, lead vocalist and song writer, Saul Martinez, of Bedlam Letters, entered without authorization and made his way to the locker room, where he proceeded to take out security officer, Dan Bowman, reporter, Tom Higgins, and cameraman James Wilcox before city authorities were able to detain him. I have some of the team members with me," Tricia announces. Saul can see Jake in the background moving toward the camera as Tricia waves him forward. He has a petite blonde girl following and hanging on him. "Jake Russo. You are the team captain, correct?" Tricia questions for verification measures. Jake nods. "Your number is fifty-three, correct?" She verifies again. Jake nods. "Do you think the intruder meant to do harm to you or anyone on your team?" Jake shakes his head, "I don't know, I don't think so." "Tell me Jake, do you know who Saul Martinez is?" Tricia pries. "Yea. He is well known around here. The whole band grew up here," Jake replies. "We need to move, so these metal-punks don't threaten you again," the blond hanging on Jake blurts out. Jake looks at her angrily, "What? I didn't feel threatened. If anything I feel relieved. He did me a favor knocking out that annoying son of a **Beep** reporter who kept hounding me." Jake gives his attention to Tricia again, "You want my opinion on this story? Leave it alone, and leave Saul alone. Now, I have a game to win," Jake puts his index and middle fingers to his lips and kisses them, then extends them to the camera as if blowing a kiss to all of his fans. The blonde girl puts her arms around Jake's neck and jumps up and down, then pulls his face to hers to kiss him.

"Martinez," the officer calls Saul to his desk. Still handcuffed, Saul sits in the chair across from the officer. "I'm Officer Bill Lader, I'll be handling your incident." Saul nods once to the officer to acknowledge him. He can hear the television playing the news reporting his incident behind him, "Did you get that, you **Beep**" The footage from the cameraman he took out plays. "Look, I never took you for a bad guy, Saul. My kids love your music, and you've always been a decent citizen. I don't really have a lot in your record, just some minor offenses years ago. Unfortunately I can't let this go. You took out a reporter, a cameraman, and a city security officer, on television. You are probably going to do time for this. If you accept the guilty charge, I can probably post bail for you, and if someone comes to get you out you can go free, but if not, you'll have to wait until the judge can see you and sentence you." Officer Bill closes the file folder on his desk. Saul's eyes fill with tears, and he nods, "Can I call my father now, before I go in holding?" Officer Bill picks up his phone receiver and hands it to Saul, "What's the number?" Saul grabs the receiver the best he can restricted by the handcuffs, "nine, one, four, five, five, five,eight, two, seven, four," Saul speaks the number for Officer Bill to dial. "Is it ringing?" Officer Bill asks to confirm the call went through. Saul nods, then directs his attention to the phone call, "Dad? Wait Dad, don't hang up, please. Can you get money from my account to bail me out when they post bail? No, dad, I had a fight with Adrien. I understand. I'm sorry." Saul chokes trying to swallow his pride over the lump in his throat, "OK. I love you dad." Saul hands the phone back to Officer Bill. "Not coming to get you?" "I don't know, but I don't deserve it. He's right. I should sit in here and think about what I've done and the damage I've caused," Saul wipes the tears forming in his eyes. Officer bill stands up, "Alright, kid, let's go. We'll put you in holding here for seventy-two hours, that's the longest we can hold you before you are escorted to the correctional facility."

Saul follows the policeman to the holding cell that is occupied by one other, an older black man wearing a black sweater and black jeans, under a brown trench coat. "What they get you for?" The man asks when the cell closes. "Assault and Battery, disturbing the peace, intervening with community functions, a bunch of bull shit," Saul replies. The man chuckles,, "I like you man. My name is Henry, Henry Jones." "Saul Martinez," Saul shakes Henry's hand, "How about you?" "Oh, they got me on some nonsense, public intoxication, disturbing the peace, and breaking and entering, but I never took anything, and the door was unlocked, I was just too drunk to realize it was the wrong apartment. Been here since last night," Henry laughs. "I've been there before," Saul laughs with his new friend. One of the policemen in the holding area calls out, "Jones, you sober yet?" "I am as straight as an arrow," Henry replies and winks to Saul. The short but bulky officer opens the cell to let Henry out, "Alright, get outta here, and no more drunken stupors." "You got it," Henry answers the cop. He reaches back to shake Saul's hand again, "Take care of yourself, Saul." The policeman steps up to close the cell, "Not you. Get back, pretty boy." He closes the cell, "If someone doesn't bail you out, the big dogs up in county will have fun with you." Saul sighs and sits on the bench that serves as a cot. All alone in a quiet cell allows the events from today to play vividly in his mind. He begins to cry softly to himself and lays down to face the wall.

An officer bangs on the cell, "Seven A.M. breakfast tray." He opens the cell and slides the tray in. "Thanks," Saul sits up and rubs his face. He looks at his surroundings again and sighs. Thoughts of Jake and yesterday's events begin to flood his mind. He pulls his knees to his chest on the bench with his back against the wall, and begins to cry again. Officer Bill comes down to holding, "Martinez, you made bail," he calls out. Saul lifts his head and breathes deep, "Ah, Lucian you are the best," he whispers to himself. Officer Bill opens the cell and escorts him to the waiting area. He is the only person in the holding area. "Where is my father?" Saul asks, "Some one is here to bail me out, right?" Officer Bill looks at the paper, "I don't know if one of them is your father, they both look a little young for that... paper here says it's your brother." Sal walks through the door after going through security, "Saul, you ok?" "You are bailing me out?" Saul asks his brother. "Dad told you, huh?" Saul looks down. "No, I saw it all over the news, but dad told me they were going to post bail for you here," Sal chuckles. "Oh... I'm sorry. You took the money from my account like I told dad to do, right?" Saul hugs his brother. "No, I did have some help making your bail though. He's getting your belongings right now." The door opens and Jake walks through. Saul gasps and takes a step back. "What is it Saul? It's ok, he told me everything." Sal reassures, tapping his brother on the shoulder. "About the incident? Or, everything?" Saul puts emphasis on the 'everything'. Sal giggles, "Everything," he mocks Saul's emphasis on the word. "Hey, Saul." Jake smiles at him. "Jake," Saul's voice shakes and his lip starts to tremble along with his hands. "I...I'm sorry,"the words are expunged with his loss of breath and the tears come quickly to fill his eyes again. "I'll do my best to keep to myself. I won't do anything to interfere with your life. I'll pay you both back what I owe you for bailing me out of here." Jake puts his arms around Saul and pulls him in close, "Shh, it's ok, baby. I'm sorry for what I said and what I did," Jake's voice starts to become shaky, "I tried to picture my life without you in it, and I can't, Saul." Saul notices Sal is recording this on his phone. He pulls himself from Jake, "What is this? What are you saying?" Jake opens the sealed envelope with Saul's belongings in it and pulls out the two identical white gold bands. He hands one to Saul, and the other he puts on Saul's wedding ring finger, "I'm saying that I want you in my life, to be my one and only, until death do us part, regardless of what you are, I love you, Saul Martinez and I want your hand in marriage, again." Saul slides the other band on Jake's wedding ring finger and hugs him tight. "We will work through whatever is thrown at us, we always have," Jake kisses Saul's lips. "Ok, Jake, just for record of commitment for your re-uniting, how long have you two actually been together?" Sal focuses his phone camera on Jake. Jake smiles, "ten years, four months, two weeks, and one day; married for eight years, seven months and six days." The policeman over seeing Saul's release shakes his head and scoffs, "That just isn't right." "Excuse me, do you have a problem with my brother's sexuality?" Sal speaks up. "Well, I could never picture myself laying bed with another man, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the fact that this poor boy laid here in this cell and cried all night long, because of this guy?" He asks, still shaking his head. Jake averts his eyes to the floor, "Saul, I'm really sorry, please forgive me for what I said, and what I did. I want our relationship to change. I want it to just be me and you." "Don't worry about it,"Saul kisses Jake again. "I'm glad your uncle called me and invited me out. I was ready to give up, thinking that you had given up on me." Jake admits. "Jake... I was on tour... In Europe," Saul reminds his husband, "How many hits to the head did you take this season?" Saul takes his wallet and phone. The three men leave the facility and get into Sal's Audi, Q7, Sal getting into the driver's seat, and Jake and Saul sit in the back seat together, holding hands. Sal sends the video he recorded to his father and Adrien before putting his phone back into his pocket and taking off. "Pop is getting Raul to school for you. Do not forget him today," Sal jokes with his brother. "Shut up, I won't forget him," Saul scoffs. "Did Lucian leave for work?" "Yea," Sal answers. Saul nudges Jake with his knee, smiling and winking at him. Jake winks and licks his lips in return. Saul closes his eyes and exhales his desire with a slight moan, that Jake sees as an opportunity to kiss his partner. Saul returns his kiss passionately. "No sex in my back seat," Sal jokes, looking in the rear view mirror to see his brother flipping him off, while continuing to make out with his lover. "Real cute, Saul."

Sal pulls up in front of his father's house to drop his brother and soon to be brother -in-law off.  
"You not coming in?" Saul asks holding the back door open.  
"Nah, I have to help Evie at the hospital when I get back," Sal says somewhat disappointed.  
"OK, bro. Thanks, for everything," Saul reaches in to clasp his brother's hand.  
"No problem. I love you. Take care of yourself and stay out of trouble," Sal chuckles.  
"Ha! You know I always do," Saul laughs, "I love you more, bro." He shuts the door and waves as he makes his way to the porch where Jake is waiting for him. Both turn around and wave as Sal drives away.

Saul and Jake enter the house, "You hungry, baby?" Saul asks, making his way to the kitchen. "For you," Jake winks at Saul. "Oh, don't worry. You are getting that," Saul smiles and begins rolling apple slices into sliced turkey deli meat, placing four rolls on each plate. "I'll cook for us after, this is just a snack." Jake picks up a turkey wrapped apple slice and begins licking up and down the length of it. He then shoves it in Saul's mouth. Saul sucks the apple slice out of the meat and holds it between his teeth for Jake to take hold of the other half with his teeth. Jake bites down and slightly chews the piece of apple with his lips pressed against Saul's before pushing it back into Saul's mouth with his tongue. Saul returns both apple pieces into Jake's mouth. Jake leans against the counter as he and Saul continue passing the apple back and forth until it is gone. Saul unbuttons Jake's jeans and reaches in, pulling his hard cock out. Jake takes off his pull over sweater, giving Saul access to kiss and lick all over his torso while slowly stroking his erect member. Saul's lips leave Jake's to venture down his neck. "Take off your jacket and... shirt, babe... I... mmmnnnahhh... want to feel... you skin... against mine," Jake pants his request. Saul takes off his jacket and tosses it on the floor, then pulls his shirt over his head and tosses it on the floor as well. He puts his mouth to Jake's neck again and kisses his way down to Jake's beautifully sculpted pecs, allowing his tongue to play in a circular motion on the nipple. He puts his thumb over the tip of Jake's dick to feel it getting wetter, then continues to move his hand back down the shaft, slightly picking up the pace. He drops to his knees, making his way down his abs to his naval. Saul licks around Jake's naval, then thrusts his tongue in, now with his fingers on his left hand gently playing with the nipple, and the right hand continuing to stroke Jake's wet dripping dick, picking up the pace a little more. "Ah, ah, ahhhhhnnnnnnggg, Saul... baby... you... are... gonna make... me... cum," Jake pants and moans louder, but Saul slows his hand strokes down and begins licking the pre-cum off of the tip of Jake's dick. Jake exhales heavily. Saul completely takes him into his mouth and slowly begins sucking. He allows his fingers of his left hand to continue to dance around Jake's nipples, but uses his right hand to gently massage his lover's testicles. "Ah, fuck... Just make love to me baby," Jake becomes overwhelmed, begging Saul to take him. Saul slides Jake's pants down his legs to his ankles, and helps Jake slip them off, wrapping his lips around Jake's dick one more time to kiss it. Saul stands and slides his own pants down to his knees. His member is already fully erect and dripping pre-cum. Lifting Jake onto the counter, he slowly pushes the tip of his dick inside of Jake. "More, baby," Jake instructs him. Saul nods and pushes himself further in. He begins thrusting in and out, holding onto and gently pushing against Jake's hips. Saul begins to moan, letting himself take pleasure in being with his one true lover. "Call my name," Saul requests, seeing Jake is very close again. Jake grabs a hold of Saul's hips and pulls the man into him, "Ah S... Saul, nnnnuuuuuggghhhhh, Saul, deeper! Give it to me!, Ah, I'm going to cum... Ah, Saul... Sa..."Jake cries out as he aims his dick to cum all over Saul's chest and abdomen. Adrien opens the door and walks into the house with Calaen, "Is anyone..." Adrien holds his hand up to signal Calaen to keep quiet, then points to the kitchen where Saul has Jake on the counter. Saul can feel Jake's muscles tightening around his dick, and he prematurely ejaculates a small amount into his lover. He lifts Jake off of the counter and holds him while thrusting into him. He moves over to the refrigerator to lean against it while continuing to thrust and grind into Jake, "Uh, Saul, are you trying to make me cum again?" Jake can feel a cool wet sensation from the small amount prematurely ejaculated and pushes Saul to cum hard,"Tell me how much you love me, how much you want me, Saul, tell me what your dick feels like inside of me. Tell me where you want to cum, Saul. You want to cum inside of me?" The lovers make their way to the floor where Saul takes an angled missionary position to finish. Adrien tries to shake off the slight jealousy building up as he watches his nephew make love to the boy he was infatuated with for years. "Ah, mmmnnnnnaaahhhh, Jake... I... I... Love you so much... I want to... taste... every part... of you, I want us... to... be one," Saul pants, beginning to lose control. "You are the...only... ah, Jake," Saul cries, "Only...one, who makes me feel... this way." He can feel his orgasm coming on strong, "Jake... I'm... cumming... I want to cum in you, I... want to go... inside... of you," his body stiffens as he blows his full load inside of Jake, "Ahhh, Fuck, Annnnnggghh, Ja...ke!" He finishes strong. "Saul, your cum feels kinda cold," Jake notices, "Does it work still?" Saul raises his brow in confusion. "If I was a chick, would you be able to get me pregnant?" Saul smirks, "What are you saying, Jake? You want to have my baby?" "If I could, I would baby, but I'm a man," Jake smiles and kisses Saul's lips.

"Well, good morning!" Adrien announces his presence. Saul looks over into the living room to see Adrien and Calaen. "When did you get here?" Saul asks his uncle, he and Jake not bothering to cover themselves up. "Right before you lifted him off the counter... So what's up. I got Sal's text. Congrats on your engagement. You two decided to get married?" Adrien asks with a hint of sourness in his tone, as he looks upon Jake's flawless body, taking in the only chance he has ever gotten to lay eyes upon his high school crush's nude body. Calaen nudges him. "What? I'm in shock, they don't even care we're standing right here," Adrien speaks to Calaen. "I, uh, got Sal's text. Congrats on your engagement. You two are getting married? Well, I guess we should be going, didn't mean to interrupt." Adrien tries to be courteous but it is hard to hide his disturbance. Saul stands up and walks out to the living room to greet his uncle, carrying his shirt and pants with him, "It's fine, I just thought we would have the house to ourselves today, but, whatever. We'll get dressed." Jake begins to dress in the kitchen, pulling his pants on and fastening them before pulling his shirt over his head. Calaen's eyes travel Saul's body down and then back up, taking in his magnificent form. "What the hell is that? Splooge?" Adrien asks Saul, pointing to the viscous fluid spilled on his chest. With one arm in a sleeve of his shirt, Saul smiles and plays in the cum with his fingers before pulling his shirt over his head and sleeving his other arm. Jake joins them in the living room and sits on the couch, "Remarried," he corrects Adrien. "What?" Adrien is confused by Jake's random answer. "You said congrats on getting married, we are married, we are getting remarried to renew our vows and seal the relationship to a monogamous one," Jake explains. "Sal sent you the video? You didn't see where we said how long we were together?" Saul chuckles. "No, I heard Jake propose and I didn't finish watching it, I had some other stuff going on," Adrien makes the excuse for himself, "When did you get married?" "About eight and a half years ago, when Myra was pregnant for Raul, " Saul answers. "Quit bullshitting me, and just because you have those rings on doesn't mean anything, they are nothing more than promise rings," Adrien scoffs. Saul and Jake both pull out their driver's licenses to show Adrien how their legal names are listed. Saul's name reads, 'Saul Andrew Russo-Martinez' and Jake's name reads, 'Jacob Lucas Russo-Martinez'. "He just chooses to continue using Martinez and I continuing using Russo. It's easier that way, but the marriage certificate, our licenses, our social security cards, and all of our documents have our legal name listed as Russo-Martinez. Even Raul's legal last name is Russo-Martinez, and I am listed on his birth certificate as father or guardian," Jake explains to the skeptical man. "Saul, you were only sixteen at the time. How were you able to get married?" "Remember when I had dad sign that document, claiming me to be emancipated so I can go on field trips on my own? It was really so I could legally marry Jake," Saul nervously smiles, exposing his lie to his uncle. "Are you two going to shower?" Adrien looks at them as if they are contaminated. Both men shake their heads in response.

Saul sits on the couch next to Jake and leans his head on his lover's shoulder. Stress and a night of fitful sleep in the holding cell has finally snuck up on him. Before he knows it, he is fast asleep on Jake's shoulder. Jake smiles and lays his head back on the couch, quickly joining Saul in slumber. "What is this?" Calaen picks up one of the turkey wrapped apple slices and smells it. "I don't know, they are body builders, that's a snack, there's probably peanut butter in there somewhere too," Adrien opens the refrigerator and pulls out some ground beef that Lucian put in there to thaw. "Eww..."Calaen puts the turkey wrapped apple back down on the plate. "Burgers on the grill?" Adrien shows Calaen the ground beef as he passes him out the door to the grill on the back porch. "Sounds wonderful," Calaen follows Adrien out the door and sits on the bench. Adrien's phone rings as he is forming the burgers, "Ah, shit. I can't get that. Calaen reaches in Adrien's pants pocket and pulls out the phone, "It's your brother, babe." "Answer it and put it on speaker," Adrien continues forming the burgers. "Hey-yo bro!" "I got a text from Sal, I'm not sure how to take it," Lucian's voice rings out over the phone's speaker. "It's not a joke, bro. Apparently this has been going on for years. I just found out too, and not from Saul. It was Raul who told me that Saul was taking up with a bedfellow he called Jake," Adrien lays his patties on the grill. "Where is Saul now?" Lucian asks. "Looks like he and Jake fell asleep on the couch," Adrien directs his attention to Calaen and whispers, "Get Canadian meat mix spice from the cabinet above the sink, babe." "Ok, I will have to talk with him about his plans for now and the future, when I get home. Ok, Adje, thanks. I'll be home in about an hour." Lucian ends the call.


	3. Chapter 3

"Come on, Raul..." A young woman with teased red hair, way too much make up, and a tattered black and white dress, that looks like she sewed it herself, hanging on her petite figure, says.  
"What, Jinni? I'm too tired. I can't even get my dick hard right now," Raul answers her before slipping his tongue back into her mouth again. Jinni sits on the counter in the night club men's bathroom, her arms and legs wrapped around Raul. The bathroom smells musty like mildew and stale cigarette smoke. The sink next to where Jinni sits is dirt stained and has rusty faucets. Behind her is an old, faded mirror with smudges, lipstick, and writing on it. Raul focuses his attention to the smudged writing just to the left of Jinni's head that says, 'For a good time call Jinni, 555-621-6659' and he smirks to himself. Across from the sinks and counter are two stalls next to two urinals. Deodorant pucks in the badly stained urinals have completely melted away leaving only the plastic frame, and the stall doors are loose on their hinges and full of writing, scratches, and dents. An un-flushed turd floats in the toilet of the stall with the broken hinge, left for everyone to see. The large, metal entry door opens, "Dude, there's some candy on the bar for you, if you want it," a young black man with twists in his hair, wearing a tee-shirt with the high school football team name on it and a pair of designer jeans over his developing muscular figure, calls to Raul.  
A slim white man with brown hair and brown eyes comes up behind the young black man, "If you don't take it, I will."  
"Get the fuck out of here, Jeff," the black man jokingly pushes his friend out of the way.  
"Whatever, Braden," Jeff chuckles as he walks away.  
Raul looks at Jinni, who had begun rubbing her hands through Raul's chestnut colored hair down to his bare shoulders, "It might give you that extra boost, so you can finally give me some dick," she laughs.  
Raul scoffs, helps her off the counter, and exits the bathroom. As they make their way to the bar, Raul notices that the patrons have dwindled. Jeff claps his hand on Raul's shoulder and hands him a rolled up twenty dollar bill. Raul leans his arms on the bar, placing himself over a thin line of white powder approximately two inches long. He slides the rolled bill partially up one nostril, and closing off his other nostril by pressing a finger to it, he takes the entire length of the line in. Picking his head up, he snorts, uses his hand to brush off his nose, and hands the rolled bill back to Jeff.  
"How do you feel now?" Jinni rubs her hand on his leg, trailing her hand up his inner thigh to his crotch.  
"Much better, but I'm not going to be able to do anything," he chuckles, slightly brushing her hand away from him.  
Jinni nods and sighs, "Coke dick."  
The bartender, a tall muscular man sporting a full beard, wearing a red flannel shirt with the sleeves cut off, and a pair of ripped black jeans calls out, "Five A.M. Closing time."  
"Thanks, Jed!" Raul and Braden shout to the bartender as they head for the door.  
Outside, the night air is cool, but Raul is numb and unable to feel the cool wind brushing against his face and body. The wax holding his longer cut faux-hawk in place begins to give way to his sweat, and he pulls his form-fitting sleeveless tank-top from his faded blue jeans, exposing his lean but muscular abs, to wipe some of the slight moisture forming on his forehead.  
"You mind if I walk home with you?" Jinni asks Raul, putting her index finger on his naval and trailing it down to the waistband of his pants.  
"Sure," Raul smiles.  
"Braden and Jeff exit the club, "Later, Raul!" "Bye, Jinni," Braden says in a nasally, annoying voice. "Practice tomorrow, dude," he points to Raul.  
Raul waves, "You got it , bro!"

Jinni lives closer to the bar, only a couple of blocks up the street, which gives her the excuse to be a regular. She is a few years older than Raul and dropped out of school at the age of sixteen. She tends to forget Raul's age and status when inviting him over after the bar. "Jinni, I'm a senior in high school still. I have to go home," he reminds her. Raul hugs her and waits for her to go into her house before continuing on toward his house.

Raul quietly sneaks up the porch steps. Saul, Jake, and Raul moved into the house across the street from Lucian when Saul and Jake renewed their vows. It was Lucian's idea that they have their own space, much like it was his idea that Adrien stay with Calaen, so they 'have their own space'. Steadying his shaking hand, he gets the key in the lock and begins to turn it, but before he can, Jake swings the door open, looks at Raul, grabs him by the shirt, and pulls him into the house.  
"Where the fuck have you been on a Monday night?" Jake raises his voice to the eighteen year old in front of him, "Did it ever occur to you that it's a school night, and don't you have an exam tomorrow?"  
Jake has matured a little in his face and shows some strands of gray running through his blonde hair, now at age thirty-eight, but he is still an active professional athlete and he keeps his body in great shape. He pulls Raul into the living room and pushes him on the couch. "I'm eighteen, I'm considered an adult. What I do is none of your concern," Raul counters, picking up the remote off the arm of the couch and turning on the large television mounted on the wall across from him, and behind Jake.  
Jake extends his arm and turns the television off manually, "Yes, you are eighteen, but, uh, oh yea... You live in my house, and you are an unemployed senior in high school, so, you'll follow my rules. I am your father and you need to respect that." Jake sternly holds his gaze on Raul.  
"What?" Raul chuckles cynically, "Last I checked, I'm Saul's blood. Not yours." Raul stands up and shoves Jake as he walks over to the stairs.  
"Yea, well, your daddy is on tour, I'm the parent in charge. It's six o'clock, get ready for school," Jake shouts up the stairs after Raul.  
Raul slams his door and begins pacing his room. Coked up and angry, he needs a release for his frustration. He stops and looks to the full length mirror that stands across from his bed. Raul sighs and moves to stand in front of it. He pulls his tank-top off slowly and begins rubbing his chest and down his abdomen with one hand, while unbuttoning his jeans with the other. Allowing his hand to slide down between the jeans and his boxer briefs. He rubs the formed bulge until he feels the tip become wet. The wet spot begins to grow in diameter. He watches in the mirror as he puts his hand inside of his boxer briefs and begins stroking his cock, letting the tip slip out from waistband of the boxer briefs. Raul pushes the opening of his pants further apart to see the tip bobbing and glistening with more precum on every stroke. A powerful urge takes over and he slides the pants down over his hips to let his member out. A drop of precum falls to the floor. Raul grabs hold of his member once more and watches in the mirror as he pleases himself, stroking his dick from the base, up the shaft slowly, to the tip. Images of Caitlyn O'Halloran, a curvy girl from school he occasionally messes around with. He imagines her with her short black hair, cut into a bob style, green eyes, high cheekbones, and a pale complexion. He imagines her dominating him, leaving him helpless and bound at the wrists and ankles, while she pulls at, sucks, and slaps his dick. In his fantasy, he sees Caitlyn step aside to allow Tanok Acuna, a tall, coffee colored, fit and trim Latino defense-man on the Lacrosse team. He imagines Tanok holding him down as he forcefully rides Raul, while Caitlyn jerks Tanok's dick in a rapid but steady motion, forcing him to cum on Raul. Raul moans softly and bites his bottom lip. Precum continuously spills out of the tip and runs down the shaft, making each stroke wetter than the last. He begins moving his hand faster, and more precum drips on the floor. The thought of Tanok taking over and dominating him finishes him quickly. He takes a step closer to the mirror so that he is right up on it and exhales his relief as his dick spits his tension all over the mirror. Smirking at the splatter on the mirror, he looks at his hand covered in the sticky substance and heads into the bathroom to wash. 

Two minutes after seven, he glances the time from the clock on his night stand as he comes out into the room drying himself off. He opens the dresser and quickly pulls out a pair of boxers, a tee-shirt, and a pair of jeans to dress himself. Back in the bathroom, he flosses and brushes his teeth, then sets up his hair dryer to dry and combs his hair. He dips his fingers in the open wax container on his bathroom sink and rubs it through his hair, running a comb through it afterwards to manipulate it to his liking. Raul keeps his products in the cabinet under the sink. He returns his hair wax and pulls out his deodorant and cologne. He adds the last touch, putting his studs back into his ears and clasping his silver chain back around his neck. The clock now reads half passed seven. He grabs his book-bag and leaves the bedroom. Raul can smell the eggs and bacon Jake is cooking in the kitchen as he comes down the stairs, and realizes he hasn't eaten since yesterday afternoon. Jake is on the phone with Saul when Raul comes into the kitchen. A plate of food is set out on the table, with a full glass of orange juice next to it. Jake jumps when he turns around from the stove to see Raul standing in the kitchen, and Raul can see Jake's face and eyes are red, as if he had been crying. Jake swallows hard, "That's yours," he directs his attention to Raul and points to the plate of food on the table, before going back to his conversation with Saul. Raul lowers his head, and the memories he has of Jake begin to flash in his mind; comforting him when he was sick, playing with him in the yard, teaching him his daily activities, teaching him how to play football, taking him out shopping, and helping him with his homework. "Dad," his voice breaks, embarrassed to even speak after the way he treated Jake, a man who only wanted to be a good father to him, regardless of blood relation. "I'm sorry..." "OK, see you tonight, I love you too," Jake closes his conversation with Saul on the phone, and gives his attention to Raul. "I'm sorry, dad," Raul repeats himself. Jake lets his arms unfold and drop to his sides. "I shouldn't have spoken to you that way, you've always been there for me," Raul starts until he is cut off by Jake throwing a small baggie of white powder on the table in front of Raul. "What's that?" Jake asks, his eyes becoming wet and glassy again. Raul closes his eyes and exhales a sigh. "Now I know why you've had the energy to go to school after partying all night..." Jake balls his fists and slams them down on the bar, "Really Raul? Fucking cocaine?!" "You went through my pockets?" Raul asks down-heartedly. "No, I moved your sweater off of the chair and it fell out of the pocket, but that isn't the point. If I didn't trust you I could have and would have gone through your pockets, your phone, and your room," Jake informs the tween. "It's not mine, I'm holding it for someone," Raul replies nervously. "I don't believe you. Come with me, I'll take you to class late," Jake pulls his shoes from the rack in the foyer and sits on the chair to don them. "Where are we going? I have practice this afternoon. I have a test to pass to stay on the team." Raul becomes even more nervous seeing his step-father put his shoes on, but Jake continues as if he doesn't hear Raul. "Dad! Are you listening to me?" Jake finishes putting his shoes on and grabs Raul's arm, guiding him out the front door to his white Cadillac Escalade. "I called the school already and told them you might be late, they are understanding," Jake informs his son. Raul climbs into the passenger seat and buckles his seat belt. When Jake hops into the driver seat, he starts the car and pulls his belt over, "I'm going to show you a buddy of mine that played ball with me through high school," Jake takes off.

Raul observes the surroundings as Jake parks the car on the side of an empty road. Only an empty field accompanied by a graveyard across the street, are all Raul can see.  
Jake looks across the street to the graveyard, his memory playing the day he attended the funeral so vividly before his eyes.  
"I thought we were going to see your buddy," Raul reiterates as they both get out of the car.  
"C'mon," Jake puts his arm around Raul, and walks him across the street, about half way into the graveyard, and up to a stone that displays "Jonathan Green, Born 1977, Died 1994" on it.  
"This is Johnny, he was my best friend. We played on the team together in high school. We were only seventeen years old," Jake pulls his wallet out of his pocket and takes an old wallet sized photograph out of one of the slots. "This is Johnny." Raul sees Jake posing with another boy with a similar physical build to Saul, a defined jaw line, narrow nose, curvy lips, sandy brown hair, and seductive brown eyes in the shopping mall photo-booth generated photo.  
"I'm sorry," Raul says in a tone that questions why he is being told this story.  
"He was into cocaine, but not long after this photo was taken," Jake catches his breath and sniffles, "Johnny died of a massive heart attack, he still had cocaine in his system, and they said that his drug habit wore his body down, and caused the ailments leading to his death." Jake wipes the tear that has escaped his eye.  
"So you took me here so you can cry over your dead friend?" Raul questions, failing to care to make the connection Jake is making with his story.  
"No! I'm crying because of you. What if you end up like this Raul? You may not love me, or consider me family, but I've been caring for you in one way or another since you were born. I wanted you to be my son, so bad. I have given everything I can for you. I love you as my child and I can't bear the thought of losing you," Jake raises his voice.  
Raul looks at the stone one more time, then to Jake, who begins brushing the tears off of his cheek with his hand, before he is interrupted by Raul hugging him tight, "I'm so sorry, dad."  
Jake hugs Raul tight, "Who were you getting that stuff from?"  
"Are you going to nark him out?" Raul asks.  
"No, I'm going to fuck him up myself... Better yet I'll send Saul after him..."  
Raul jumps back, "No! Shit, I'd rather you hand him over to the police, at least this way he'd still be alive. Please don't tell Saul."  
"You fear your father?" Jake asks Raul. "You know what he is... He's a killer," Raul tries to mask his fear with anger. "He doesn't always kill, he really does try to be as human as possible," Jake offers comfort to Raul. "Yes, except when we go out to eat, he eats half the food and vomits on the floor because he can't stomach it, then our waitress goes missing and they find her dead in the bathroom. Funny how we have to leave just then." Jake sighs in agreement, "You stay away from the shit and I'll keep it between me and you," Jake smiles, giving Raul the message to relax.

When Jake and Raul arrive home, Myra is on the porch. The two men get out of the car, "Myra, what can I do for you?" Jake calls to her as he walks to the porch. "I'm here to see my son." Myra does not make eye contact with Jake, instead she looks to Raul. She appears tired for thirty-three, but her short pixie cut is clean and she wears a white baby-tee and tight skinny jeans. "Hi, Myra. How did you know I was here?" Raul greets her. "I went to the school and they said you were absent." She hugs Raul, "You got some stuff?" She whispers in his ear after Jake goes into the house. "No," he scoffs, "Mr. Mom found it and flushed it." "Ugh, that bastard. What does he think he is, your mother?" She snidely questions. "He's more of a mother to me than you were," Raul says in a matter-of-fact tone. "You know what? Get off my porch, before Saul comes home," Raul moves away from her. "When is you hot daddy coming home? He hasn't really even spoken to me since you were a child, even before he married that man." Myra folds her arms and leans against the porch railing. "Heh, who'd have thought, that Saul, the player and womanizer he is, likes dick." "Heh, you really don't know my dad or his past, do you?" Raul chuckles, mocking his mother. "He was emancipated and married to 'that guy' at sixteen. From what I hear, he's been with him since he was fourteen, and that's the only person he is romantically committed to, and uh, the only 'dick' he's been with. He doesn't like dick, he likes Jake's dick..." Myra pushes Raul lightly and sucks her teeth, then turns around and walks down the stairs. Raul watches her until she turns the corner, then goes back inside. "Come on, daddy Jake, let's go," Raul calls up the stairs. When no answer comes, Raul walks up the stairs, "What the hell is he doing up here, I thought he was going tot take me to class," he whispers to himself. He opens his parents' bedroom door to find Jake has fallen asleep, slouched over in the chair, while waiting for Raul to finish talking with Myra. Raul smiles and sighs. Not wanting to disturb his father figure, he kisses Jake's cheek, "I'll walk to class, dad. I love you." He grabs his backpack from the floor at the bottom of the stairs and leaves the house.

Myra peeks around the corner to see Raul leaving, heading in the opposite direction toward the high school. When she sees that Raul is far enough away, she slowly moves closer to the house. 'Raul left on his own, which means that bastard is still in the house,' she thinks to herself, anticipating another encounter with Jake. Crouched down, she walks carefully up to the windows, looking around the neighborhood to see if anyone notices her. The living room window on the side of the house giving her a full view of the living room and part of the kitchen. She sees no one. The house seems to be still, but just before she moves away from the window, she sees the front door swing open, 'Great, he forgot something...typical Raul,' she thinks to herself. When the person steps in, she sees it's not Raul, but Saul who had come back home. She nervously shies away from the window, her feelings for Saul clouding her better judgement. She peeks in again to see he has taken his jacket and shirt off, and he is making his way to the kitchen. A jealous streak runs through her momentarily as she watches the man who hasn't aged passed twenty-four, 'He must have really good genes,' she scoffs to herself, 'He still looks really young, like he is close to Raul's age. I bet if he's still out screwing around with girls, he's messing with these young girls, probably still in high school,' she shakes her head trying to regain her focus. 'Oh, what I wouldn't give to touch that body again.' Myra gasps when she looks back in the window to see Saul is out of site. The sound of a door opening and closing hard startles her, but she has full view of both the front and back doors. She creeps around towards the front of the house, and positions herself under the front balcony. Hearing movement and slight vocalizations on the balcony above her, she quietly tucks herself along side the blue hydrangea bush and listens closely to see if she can decipher any words.

On the balcony off of Raul's room, Saul positions a chair away from the wall and sits down, looking across the street to his father's house with his phone to his ear.  
"Yea, I'm home now. I'm sorry to hear about Evie's parents, bro. How's Brock holding up? He's going to be ten next week, right?"  
Saul lights a cigarette, while listening to his brother's response.  
"How's dad doing? I don't really see him much any more. It seems like, ever since he found out both Adrien and I were romantically involved with men, he cut both of us off... But, I thought he knew about Adrien's sexual preference. What?! He blames Adrien for influencing me to be gay? That's retarded. I didn't even know Adje was gay until he started dating Calaen. He hid it from me," Saul takes one last pull off of his cigarette before smashing it out into the ashtray on the stand next to him. "Ok, Sal, see you tonight," Saul clicks the 'end call' button on his phone while continuing to gaze over at his father's house. He stands up, looking up and down the street to be sure the street and the homes on the street are vacant, unbuttoning his pants to pull himself out and relieve himself on the lawn and bushes below.

Myra stands still, hearing more movement on the balcony, and closes her eyes, until a stream of liquid splashes on her head. She opens her eyes and gasps quietly, 'Real nice way to show that you caught me by dumping water on me' she thinks, annoyed, until the smell catches her attention. Myra becomes furious and moves from her position to see Saul shake off before tucking himself back into his pants.  
"What the fuck, asshole!" Hearing Myra call out startles Saul and he quickly looks over the balcony to see her standing below him, soaking wet.  
"What are you doing here? What's wrong with you?" Saul calls down to her.  
"You pissed on me, you idiot!"  
Saul goes back in the house, grabs a towel out of the closet, and rushes outside, "Here," he hands her the towel.  
She grabs the towel from him, angrily, and begins wiping herself off.  
"I'm so sorry, I didn't expect someone to be creeping around my house."  
"Why would you piss off the balcony when there is an empty bathroom just beyond the balcony door, asshole?"  
"Because I felt like it. I didn't see anyone around and I thought I could piss off my balcony without being ridiculed for it. I didn't know you were there. I'm sorry..." He pauses for a moment, "What the fuck were you doing creeping around my house?"  
"Your son has something of mine that your 'man' took from him," Myra says in a snooty tone.  
"What? I'll get it for you, while you use the shower. I'll get you some clothes that you can wear until you get home," Saul guides her to Raul's bathroom and begins looking for clothes that might fit her. He comes back into the bathroom with a pair of Raul's black athletic pants and his own green tee-shirt that was designed to represent the Brazilian Flag.  
"What is it that Jake took from Raul?" He hands her the clothes.  
"Why don't you ask him," she takes the clothes.  
"He's sleeping," Saul says, inpatient.  
"It's cocaine... A baggie of cocaine. I went half with Raul, so half of it is his," she admits.  
"Get the fuck out of here," Saul blows her off.  
"I'm serious, Saul," Myra holds her gaze.  
"Hurry up and shower and get out of my house," he takes the clothes back from her and puts them on the rack, then turns the shower on, "be lucky that being pissed on is all you got, you deserve much worse." Myra comes out of the bathroom dressed in the clothes loaned to her, to see Saul sitting on the edge of Raul's bed waiting for her, "At least give me what's mine and I'll leave." Saul leads her down stairs, "Get out." "Wake him up and ask him where it is," Myra demands. "No. Why should I? Get out of my house," he tells her as he escorts her out of the front door. "I can't believe you! You are actually condoning drug use to your own son?" Saul shakes his head. "He's not my son, he's just some confused kid, raised by homosexuals, who wants to get high," Myra retorts to Saul, then turns around to walk down the stairs, leaving the porch. "I'm renewing that restraining order, you dirty bitch," Saul calls to her as she makes her way down the street.

Saul runs up the stairs and enters the bedroom, "Jake! Wake up!" Saul taps Jake on the chest.  
"Saul? What's going on? Oh Shit! Where's Raul? I fell asleep, I was going to take him to school!" As Jake comes more into consciousness, he see's Saul's anger has provoked him to change forms.  
He looks at Jake, "I'm so disappointed. Why didn't you tell me Raul had drugs on him? " Saul dials a number and puts the phone to his ear. " Good morning, this is Saul Martinez, I just want to make sure Raul made it to school ok, he missed his ride... yeah, ok, got it. Thank you." Saul puts his phone back in his pocket, "Raul made it to school."  
Saul," Jake stand up to fully engage in the conversation, "I just found the stuff in his pocket this morning, how did you find out about it already? Anyway, I handled it, and I was going to talk about it this afternoon with you and Raul."  
"The drugs were Myra's, he got it for her apparently," Jake sighs in relief, "...but before you go getting relieved and thanking the gods he was telling the truth, she told me that he went in half with her, and that he has been actively using," Saul finishes. Jake balls his fist and slams it on the arm of the chair before standing, "Fucking bastard... I swear I'm going to beat that kid's ass..."

Raul gets out of Braden's Jeep Wrangler, "Good practice, see you tomorrow!"  
"You coming out tonight?" Braden asks.  
"No, I can't, Jake found my stuff, and my dad will be home tonight," Raul scoffs, exhausted and in pain after his high crashed hours ago.  
When he opens the door, he can hear Saul and Jake in the kitchen talking as they prepare dinner.  
"Great..." He whispers to himself. A tap on his shoulder startles him and he quickly turns around to find Saul. "Where were you last night?" Saul closes the door and ushers Raul into the living room, pushing him on to the couch. "With my team," Raul answers in an irritated tone, "You weren't here, so why do you care?" "I don't think you should talk to your mother anymore either, she's no..." Before Saul could finish, Raul cuts him off, "Psht, please, I don't give a fuck about that skank. She only comes around when she wants me to do shit for her and I scam a little extra out of her every time," he stands and brushes his father away from him as he makes his way toward the stairs. "Jake, I'll be back," Saul growled before teleporting outside.

"Saul! No!" Jake runs out the door after Saul, catching him before he leaps off the porch.  
"Let... Go... Jake!" Saul growls, trying to control the beast within him.  
"Don't do this, you can fight it," Jake holds firm to Saul's right arm.  
Saul balls his left fist and quickly swings it around hitting Jake just below his right eye, then pins him against the exterior house paneling.  
Jake gasps, "S...Saul..."  
Tears begin to pool in his eyes, but Saul cannot comprehend human emotion or reality in his state. Operating purely on violent impulse and instinct, he sinks his teeth into Jake and drinks him dry. The loud thud of Jake's body dropping on the porch prompts Raul to run out to the porch to see what has happened. He sees Jake lumped over, lifeless on the porch, and his father drooling the blood that spilled over.  
"What have you done?" Raul whispers as he backs up slowly through the front door, noticing that Saul is looking at him as if he is his next meal.  
Saul moves toward Raul, and Raul quickly slams the door shut on his father.  
'Fuck, he can teleport' Raul thinks to himself as he runs to the stairs, his father close behind him.  
"Saul! Stop it!" Raul cries when Saul grabs his ankle, tripping him on the stairs.  
The young athlete pulls a small folded piece of paper out of his pocket, carefully trying to unfold it while kicking to keep his father away from him, then quickly bumps the small amount of white powder up his nose. The rush is just what he needs to regain his focus. Within milliseconds his fist is locked and crashing into Saul's jaw.  
Saul shakes his head. His form changes back to his original human form. Saul wipes his mouth and looks at his hands and then looks up to see Raul breathing heavy with his fist still balled.  
"What the fuck happened?" Saul's confusion is apparent in his tone.  
Raul begins to sob hard, "You son of a bitch! I fucking hate you!"  
"Where's Jake? What the hell is wrong with you?" Saul checks his son over for injuries, and bite marks.  
Raul flinches when Saul comes closer to him.  
"Relax, I'm just making sure you are ok," he says, and sighs relief when he realizes Raul is safe. "I got so angry, I must have vamped out. I'm sorry you have to see that."  
"Don't apologize to me, be sorry for Jake," Raul spits.  
"What?" Saul walks down the stairs and through the open front door to find Jake still lying lifeless on the porch. His heart jumps in his throat as he runs over to the body, grabs it and holds it close to him, shouting and sobbing.  
Raul comes down the stairs and stands in the doorway, watching the display of a man who, moments ago, killed Jake and tried to kill him.  
"You took away my only real parent. He was always there for me. He was always there for you. I hate you so much, Saul Martinez," Raul begins to cry again.


	4. Chapter 4

"Come on, old man," Calaen playfully calls back to a forty year old Adrien, who is lagging behind a bit. "Babe, we've been walking around all night, and I'm just a little bit tired," Adrien chuckles his response.

The city is still well lit and gives the appearance that it is still bolstering with life at four o'clock in the morning, though the streets are empty save a few homeless people down an alley huddled around a trashcan fire, that Adrien glimpses as he and Calaen walk by the alleyway. Calaen breaths deep, savoring the smell of the crisp, autumn, night air, "OK, we can head home," he tells Adrien.  
Adrien sighs relief, then hesitates when he realizes how far they will have to walk to get back, fighting the urge to sit on the ground and pout and cry like a little kid. They pass another hotel, a big, bright, five-star hotel. Adrien stops in front and peers into the large glass double doors, longing to check in for a few hours of sleep. Calaen turns around, noticing that his partner has fallen further behind, and sighs. He walks back and stands beside Adrien, "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Calaen asks as they both look in to see the minimal number of staff in the large, well-kept lobby. A concierge sits, half asleep, behind a large oak desk station that completely encases him, and another worker stands on a ladder, dusting the borders and ceiling fans on the high ceiling. The walls look as though they had been freshly painted a creamy beige. Antique loveseats, sofas and chairs of gold and maroon surround a fireplace on each side of the main entrance.  
Calaen tugs at Adrien's jacket, "Come on, let's go home."  
Adrien turns his gaze slowly to Calaen, and nods.

The adventurous men finally turn the corner onto their street. Adrien feels an extra burst of energy when he realizes how close to home he is, "Just a little further," he tells himself.  
The two men arrive home only to find Lucian and Raul standing on their porch, waiting.  
"Lucian? Raul? What's going on?" Adrien asks, but when the men do not respond immediately, he turns to Calaen, "Am I hallucinating?"  
"No, they are really there," Calaen assures his lover.  
Raul finally attempt to speak, but begins to sob again. Adrien moves over to the young man and puts his arm around him, "Hey, what is it?" He asks in a calming voice.  
"Jake has been found dead, on his own front porch. His throat ripped out and most of his blood drained. Saul is nowhere to be found. The kid suspects that Saul did it," Lucian explains heavily.  
"What are you talking about?! I know Saul did it, I saw him do it, and then he came after me!" Raul shouts at his grandfather.  
Calaen gasps, putting his hand to his mouth.  
"He's a killer," he whispers to Adrien, "I thought he would be more like me, to control it, but I was wrong... He's a killer," Calaen's eyes begin to water.  
"OK, everyone inside," Adrien says through a sigh, trying to stay strong for his family that is breaking down in front of him.

Adrien sits on the loveseat in the living room, relieved to finally rest his body, even if his mind cannot rest in the wake of this news.  
"He's a goddamned shit sucker!" Raul shouts converting his sadness to anger.  
"What?" Adrien asks his great nephew.  
"Raul's not well. He keeps going on about Saul being a vampire or some kind of monster. I think he's severely traumatized," Lucian comments.  
"How much contact have you had with Saul over the last ten years?" Adrien asks his grieving brother.  
"Not enough. We spoke on the phone, and occasionally we'd see each other, but to be honest, I saw Sal more than Saul. He just didn't come around often, even with him living across the street. Sal's on his way here, by the way," Lucian informs the group.  
"Lucian, I don't know how to say this, but, Saul IS a vampire," Adrien tells his older brother and grabs Calaen's arm to pull him over, "... And so is Calaen."  
Calaen gives Adrien an annoyed look and pulls his arm back. Lucian looks at them all as if they've gone mad.  
"It's true," Calaen says downheartedly, straightening his coat, "I did this to Saul. I drank from him, and I took a little too much, so I turned him to save him."  
"You're all fucking nuts!" Lucian shouts, "My son is not a fucking monster, monsters like that aren't real, they don't exist. What is wrong with you people?!"  
"You're absolutely right Lucian. There is very few of us left, but in my time there were many more. I'm nearly seven-hundred years old. The 'monsters' or 'killers' were all either caught and killed off, or bred out of society. Only those with the utmost control could survive. Lucian, I am not a killer. I take what I need and let my donors live. I use blood banks, and sometimes clean animals," Calaen explains, before revealing his dark form to the group. 

Much like Saul, Calaen's dark form closely resembles his human form, with the exception of his fangs and eye color change from grey to icy blue. He begins to show Lucian his formidable strength and speed to prove they are not crazy and that his kind does exist, even if in small numbers. "And now my son is one of them... one of you?" Lucian catches himself. "In the last ten years, a number of people have gone missing. Many of them, wastes of society. Most people just write it off as if they wandered away or died in a ditch somewhere. It must have been Saul," Adrien acknowledges. "He is not able to control his beastly urges, but he is able to control who he attacks and how," Calaen's thoughts wander. "My sister, Lily, and I are descendants of the fallen angel who spawned our pure kind. Where I am very much like my angelic grandfather, Saul is similar to my father, until this misfortune, of course. My father couldn't control the beast, but he could control where and how he unleashed it. His dark form resembles my grandfather too. I should have known," Calaen begins to tell the group of his lineage. "Though my father was the spawn of an angel and a very powerful wiccan goddess, he closely resembled his angelic father, and was accepted as an angel among the angels, but my grandfather was tasked with staying with him at all times, and raising him as an angel. He's the only spawn that was forgiven, and allowed entrance into heaven, as the angels were not permitted to procreate. I suppose God believed my grandfather to be pure enough and strong enough to contain his son. The truth is, my grandfather was very powerful, powerful enough to have been offered a position as an archangel, but he turned it down to join and lead the Grigori, watchers, for the freedom. No matter how pure they all thought he was, he still agreed with his older brother, as did his son. They both joined him in the war as his generals, and fell."

Sal pulls up outside of the house and Lucian goes out on the porch to meet him.  
"Dad! Have you heard from Saul yet? Where is Raul?" Sal shuts the car door and runs toward his father on the porch, still dressed in his veterinarian scrubs.  
"No. Come on, inside, Raul is inside," Lucian informs him.

"Sal!" Adrien intercepts Sal when he comes in the door and hugs him tight. Over Adrien's shoulder, Sal gives Calaen a disproving glance, and returns his uncle's tight hug. Sal claps his hand on Calaen's shoulder, "Can I talk to you?" Calaen nods and moves with Sal up the stairs to his bedroom, shutting the door behind him as they enter.

"Look, Saul is my twin brother. We are close, and, uh, he tells me everything. I know you are the one who did this to him. Tell me, is there any way to reverse this? Is there any way to give him his life back? Not that he would want it now, but before he vamps out again and hurts his son..." Sal calmly pleas with Calaen.  
"I'm sorry, Salvador," Calaen looks down, "This is not something that can be reversed. Believe me, I wish it were. Saul is only the second person I have turned, in seven-hundred years."  
"What happened to the first?" Sal asks, hinting that there is a lesson to be learned, but is disappointed when he hears Calaen's reply.  
"She is still with us, living peacefully in Europe."  
"Is there a way to save him?"  
"Yes, I suppose I could stay with him, secluded, to help him control his urges. He can't hurt me, and he won't be able to get out to hurt others," Calaen offers his suggestion.  
"Is the probability great, that this will work?" Sal can't believe he is actually considering this alternative to slaying this beast who turned his brother, and could possibly hurt his uncle.  
"Yes. It may take some time, but I think he will eventually come around... Don't worry, I cannot hurt your brother either. He is immortal, and I wouldn't cause him any serious harm," Calaen responds with a trustworthy smile.  
"I'm trusting you, please help him, and, if you could, wipe my family's memory of this. My father does not need to view his son as some relentless beast."  
Calaen acknowledges Sal's request, and when they return downstairs, Calaen enters Lucian's mind to clear the memories of what has been told to him about vampires, as well as Saul's killings and disappearance.  
"Sal pulls Adrien aside, "Calaen is wiping Dad's memory of this nonsense. Don't tell him shit like this again. We will handle it. Raul should probably be..." Sal looks around, "Wait. Where's Raul?"  
"No idea," Adrien responds, looking around the room, then opening the door to find the porch empty. "Shit! Sal check the house, I'll scout the neighborhood for him." Sal nods and runs up the stairs, while Adrien exits the house. Calaen erases enough of Lucian's memory, and implants a memory that Jake and Saul have gone missing and he is caring for Raul. He also implants the memory of Adrien living with him, as if Adrien had never moved out.

Lily gasps as Sal opens her door, "Who are you, and what are you doing?"  
Sal closes his eyes and turns his head, "Oh, sorry. I'm looking for my nephew. Did someone come up here to hide in your room?" He glances back at her. The beautiful woman in front of him only wears a skimpy pair of lace panties, that are still very revealing.  
"No! Now, get out of here. I'm trying to change for bed," Lily states, trying to cover her breasts.  
Sal nods and leaves the room. 

Calaen zaps Lucian back home in his bed, and mentally scouts the home for Raul, but he has no luck.  
"I don't see him. How far could he have gone? Where's my brother?" Adrien returns to see Lucian has gone.  
"I sent him home, his memories are clear and I even implanted a fake one so that he thinks Jake and Saul took off on some adventure, while he has to care for Raul," Calaen assures Adrien.  
"Nice touch babe," Adrien puts his arms around Calaen, but the immortal being pushes him away. "What's up with you?"  
"Adrien," Calaen's voice becomes heavy with sadness, "I have to go away for some time, and I think it's best if we..."  
"No, what are you saying? You have been my life for the last ten years. Where are you going? If it's because of this mess, I assure you, I know this isn't what you intended baby. I know you were making the best of a slippery situation." Adrien's heart begins to race and ache, and his eyes become red and glassy.  
"I think it's best if we go our separate ways for a while, until this is all sorted out." Calaen enters Adrien's mind and begins erasing the memory of himself, their relationship, the time they spent together, and that his kind exist.

"He's not in the house Calaen. I'm going to start heading to my dad's to see if he is on his way there," Sal comes down the stairs and leaves the house, jumping in his Audi Q7 and driving off.  
Calaen lays Adrien on the loveseat, and sits in the chair next to him. He gets up and leans over to kiss Adrien's lips one last time before zapping him back to Lucian's house.  
Lily comes down stairs, "What is going on my brother?"  
"Help me zap all of Adrien's belongings to Lucian's house," he requests of her.  
"I don't think I'm strong enough for that," she responds confused of what her brother is asking her to do.  
"Try Lily. I've sent him back to his brother's home, erased his memories of us, our existence, and the relationship I had with him. I have to find Saul and seclude him." Calaen begins sending his ex-lovers belongings to his permanent home.  
"Why?!" Lily questions, even more confused than she was.  
"He's dangerous, and it's my fault, Lily, so I have to train him and tame him," Calaen zaps more of Adrien's belongings to Lucian's.  
"You are going to completely wear yourself out. Why don't we hire someone to come pick this up and deliver it?" Calaen shakes his head at his sister's suggestion as if it makes no sense. She mocks his gestures.

"And don't tell me your going to put yourself through another 'dad' episode," Lily folds her arms. 

"Saul is different, sister. He was human, and I think he understands me better than 'dad' does," Calaen rolls his eyes.

*** 

A small fraction of light, from a single street lamp across the barren alley, seeps under the closed blinds, and dusts a small spot of the worn wooden floor. The small fleck is stomped out by a pacing shoe. A sound tumbles and scrapes outside. Saul lifts a single slat to peer out of the window. When he is satisfied that it was nothing, he lets the slat down easy and exhales carefully. The regretful beast turns to move away from the window, and bumps into a soft fabric, smelling of fresh linen.  
"I thought I might find you here," a voice speaks quietly to him.  
His fear sparks his bestial vigor once more and his muscles begin to tighten.  
"Saul, it's me. Calm yourself," the voice calmly speaks again.  
"Calaen?" Saul scoffs, "How did you find me, and what do you want?" "What did you do?" "What does it matter? It's behind me now," Saul answers apathetically. "You don't mean that," Calaen looks at him sternly, "You are going to spend some time with me to work through this." "What about Adrien? You sound as if we're shacking up together for a while," Saul jokes. "We are. I completely erased his memories of me. We can stay here and use this space, if you'd like," Calaen offers, moving closer and running his fingers through Saul's hair. Saul leans his face into Calaen's hand and chuckles, "I knew you wanted me." Calaen rolls his eyes and sighs.

Calaen looks around at the small hiding space, "You don't remember me bringing you here, do you? But, you remember the place."  
Saul shrugs his shoulders and turns his gaze away from Calaen.  
Calaen looks at the old bed tucked in the corner. Memories of he and Lily sleeping on that bed when they first came to this city flood his mind. He averts his stare to a small desk and chair set, the same candle from years ago, planted on top of it, half burned, and wax spilled all over the candle holder. He looks at Saul, and remembers the few times he had brought Saul here to tame his thirst, shortly after he had turned him. He then allows his gaze to rest on Saul, relaxed in the small wooden chair, with his attention focused out the window. His eyes sweep Saul's frame up and down. A memory that had been locked away in Calaen's mind, and erased from Saul's mind, taunts. 

*** Calaen's Memory***

"Does Adrien know you keep requesting to meet me here?" Saul's smirk suggests he could care less who knew.  
"No, and it will stay that way. I just need to make sure you are good enough to be out on your own... like this," Calaen replies, gesturing to Saul in his dark form.  
"Oh, more training," Saul leans back in the small wooded chair and turns his head to face the window.  
Calaen stands over Saul, and straddles his legs over Saul's lap, then begins lightly running his hands through Saul's hair to read his strength and aura. His hands cup Saul's face, then rub down the new vampire's neck to rest on his shoulders. Calaen continues a rubbing motion from Saul's shoulders to his chest.  
Looking up at Calaen, Saul scoffs through his mirthless smirk, "We gonna fuck, or what?"  
Calaen slaps Saul's face, "Don't talk."  
Caught off guard, Saul gasps, then bites his lip gently, but allowing his fang to pierce it and draw blood. He smirks at Calaen.  
"You've grown stronger in such a short amount of time," Calaen notices, his eyes falling on Saul's lips.  
Saul rests his hands on Calaen's waist, squeezing playfully at his hips. Calaen brings his face close to Saul's, the young vamp still smirking. He begins to feel intoxicated, staring into Saul's golden yellow eyes, and feeling his breath light on his lips. Calaen grabs Saul's chin and licks the blood droplet making its way down from his lip. Saul reciprocates, meeting Calaen's tongue with his own.  
'What am I doing?' The thought crosses Calaen's mind, but instead of stopping he allows his body and his emotions to take control, yearning for more with every kiss. Saul pauses to remove his tee-shirt, and then assists Calaen with removing his. Calaen melts feeling his bare skin against Saul's. He begins rocking his hips against his student, rubbing his very wet member against Saul's. Saul reaches for the buttons on his mentor's pants, but Calaen hesitates momentarily, intercepting Saul's hand and holding it. He finally lets go and assists him with unbuttoning his pants. Saul reaches for his own pants, and quickly unfastens them.  
He stands up, lifting Calaen up with him, then gently lowers Calaen and himself onto the old bed. Saul straddles Calaen's knees and begins slowly kissing his abdomen and pulling his pants down passed his hips. Calaen moans as Saul works his way down finally kissing and licking the tip Calaen's dick. Calaen pulls Saul to him, kissing his lips before placing his hands on Saul's hips and guiding him to thrust in and out of his mouth.  
Calaen's mouth is so moist, the back of his throat is so warm. Saul feels his climax could be close if he lets himself get too excited. He pulls out of Calaen's mouth and rubs his throbbing cock against Calaen's, while holding his mentor's body close to his own.  
"Calaen, I think I'm falling in love with you," Saul whispers.  
Calaen's breaths become labored, and his moans become weak, "Wait," Calaen pushes at Saul and sits up, before he reaches climax, "I think we should stop."  
"Did your conscience finally kick in?" Saul's disappointment is audible in his sarcastic tone.

"Hey! Did your conscience finally kick in?" Calaen snaps out of his memory hearing Saul call to him.  
"What?" Calaen asks softly.  
"I said, did your conscience finally kick in, you know, with turning me and all the shit I've caused and whatnot, like death and despair," Saul rambles playfully unto deaf ears.  
Calaen shakes his head and takes a deep breath. He moves over to straddle Saul's legs and begins running his hands through Saul's hair again. Saul moves his head away, knowing Calaen is trying to gain entrance to his mind.  
"You've become very strong Saul. You even know how to block me from entering your mind. That's good," Calaen averts his gaze to the floor.  
Saul takes hold of Calaen's face, guiding it close to his own, "I know how to restore memories too... So, uh, we gonna fuck, or what?" Saul chuckles before leaning in to kiss Calaen.

Calaen returns Saul's kiss, then slaps his face, fighting the urge to give himself over to his defiant equal.  
Saul sighs, half expecting the slap across the face, "What was that for?"  
"I'm not just some groupie who is going to be added to very long list of numbers, then tossed aside," Calaen states firmly.  
"What?! Now, come on baby. I wouldn't dream of doing that to you," Saul closes his lips over Calaen's once more.  
"What about Jake?" Calaen changes the subject, pulling himself away from Saul.  
"What about him? He's gone, and nothing can bring him back," Saul feels a cold sadness wash over him.  
"Do you even care?" Calaen asks.  
"Of course I do. I loved Jake. He was my partner, my best friend, and my lover."  
"So, then you have no true feelings for me, and once you 'get me in bed' so to speak, that will be it," Calaen retorts.  
"Calaen, ever since I met you, I felt it, an unspoken desire, a bond between us, a spark, love. Then I found out you were with my uncle. I cried myself to sleep that night, because I knew I could never have you. When you turned me, I became optimistic that I might have a chance, even if it's lifetimes down the road," Saul assures him, "I stayed with Jake because, yes I did love him, but also because you and my uncle were happy together and I couldn't jeopardize that."  
"Saul, you're serious about that?" Calaen straddles Saul's lap again and traces the young vampire's face with his fingertips, before leaning in to kiss him passionately, "I want you to take me, and give me all of you."

***

Adrien wakes up to the smell of bacon and eggs, "Huh, I must have fallen asleep in Sal's bed last night."  
Downstairs Lucian has set the table for breakfast for the three of them.  
"Hey little bud," he addresses Raul upon entering the kitchen.  
"Hey Adj, you hungry?" Lucian turns the stove top burner off and sets a plate of bacon on the table.  
"Hell yeah, bro!" Adrien sits down and begins to make a plate for himself, "Where's Saul, again?"  
"He went off with Jake on some tour or vacation, he'll be back," Lucian answers from the sink where he washes the pans used for breakfast, "You got plans today?"  
"Yea, I was gonna head over to Nate's and practice a bit, maybe watch a movie and chill. Is that cool, or do you need help with something?"  
Lucian chuckles, "No bro, I'm good."

Adrien eats quickly and runs upstairs to shower. He comes back down in a forest green knit sweater with the collar of a white polo folded over the sweater collar and a pair of Saul's jeans that he found in the closet. His dark hair is clean and brushed, he is clean shaven, and he smells of fresh toothpaste and sweet cologne.  
"Whoa! You and Nate expecting some company while you're there?" Lucian comments as he cleans up the rest of breakfast.

Adrien rings the doorbell, hiding a bouquet of flowers, that he picked up from the florist on his way, behind his back. A man that Adrien does not recognize opens the door. The man has short brown hair and brown eyes. His skin is smooth and tan, and he speaks with a very low voice, "Can I help you?"

"Who is it?" Nate comes behind the man and he opens the door wider.  
"Adrien... What's up? What are you doing here? Did you need something?" Nate asks, puzzled by his present guest.

"No," Adrien returns the confused look, "Here, these are for you, babe," he hands Nate the flowers.

Nate's expression goes from confused to angry, "What are you doing?"

"I thought I'd come by to see you. I missed you today," Adrien winks. 

"You're a little late, don't you think?" Nate mocks and throws the flowers back at Adrien's chest.

"What? A little late? For what? Who's your friend?" Adrien's heart sinks as he picks up the broken bouquet.

"Did you think I was going to sit around and wait for you for the last ten years? You left me ten years ago for that guy and we haven't really spoken. Saul married Jake Russo and disappeared. Jimmy got married and has a family. Mike overdosed on heroin and died four years ago. I'm married now to Jason, and we're happy." Nate recaps the events for Adrien as if he suspects the man at the door is playing dumb.

"I don't understand," Adrien looks at the broken bouquet in his hands to hide the tears forming in his eyes, "I guess, I guess I'll go," he picks his head up to look at Nate and Jason, "It was nice to meet you Jason. Take care of this guy, he's the most wonderful guy I know."

Jason scoffs at Adrien and shakes his head, "Whatever." 

Nate watches as Adrien steps off the porch and ditches the bouquet in a bush at the end of the walk way, then lifts his glasses off of his face to wipe his tears. He closes the door, and makes his way to the bedroom in the basement that was set up specifically for Adrien and he sits on the bed, hugging a jacket that Adrien left behind. The bedroom remained the same after Adrien left. Nate didn't have the heart to enter it again after they split up. He looks down at the pink stain on the pillow from when Adrien dyed his hair. The sheets and blankets are strewn over the bed in an unkempt manner. Jason comes down the stairs, "Nate? Everything ok?"

Nate throws the jacket down on the floor and starts ripping the sheets off the bed, "Him coming here reminded me that I never cleaned the basement out after he left."

Adrien walks through the door. There is a note on the table from Lucian that reads, "Adj, went fishing with Raul, be back later."  
He tosses the note back on the table and heads to Sal's room where he drops on the bed and stares at the ceiling waiting to fall asleep.  
"What happened?"

He is awaked a few hours later by rapping on the door, then the door opening and someone yelling 'hello'.  
The pained man gets up and goes downstairs.  
"Nate, what are you doing here? Where's Jason?" Adrien spits.

"He went to work. What's wrong with you coming by starting this shit?" Nate hisses.

"I don't understand. I thought we were happy, I'm sorry if I was horrible to you. I must have done something terrible to make you run off and marry that guy." Adrien closes the door and leads Nate to the kitchen.

"You... You really don't remember? You left me, for some fancy dressed dude. We parted, kind of on bad terms. We haven't really spoken in over ten years," Nate quietly informs Adrien.

"This doesn't make any sense. But, whatever... You should probably go," Adrien puts his head down on the table. 

"I'd like us to become good friends again, Adj," Nate's request pings at Adrien's pained heart.

"To be honest, Nate, I don't know if I can handle that, but we can try," Adrien murmurs into the table. He inhales sharply, wipes his face on his shoulder then lifts his head and forces a half hearted smile.

Nate gets up from the table and pushes his chair in. Adrien weakly watches him. He stands and stares at Adrien, hesitating to hug the man who has brought so much confusion to him, but Adrien does not stand. Nate sighs and heads toward the front door, "I'm sorry Adrien. Later bro," he calls to Adrien before shutting the door and walking away.

Adrien gets up from the table and walks toward the door, peeking out to see that Nate has gone. He runs upstairs to the bathroom. Turning on the sink to allow the water to run warm, he searches for a washcloth in the closet. He sets the washcloth and wipes his face with the warm water, then throws the wet washcloth in the hamper and runs downstairs. The ex-musician leaves the house and heads in the direction of the cafes and shops. 

BiBi's cafe is bustling with the hustling crowd of employees on their coffee breaks from the retail shops. Adrien pulls the change left over from purchasing the bouquet out of his pocket and orders a small cappuccino. The clerk at the counter over filled his cup so that some runs down the sides.  
"Napkins?" Adrien asks, as he grabs the cup carefully.

"On the counter behind you," the clerk responds, quickly whipping up his next order.

Adrien sighs irritably, and turns around to make his way to the counter with napkins, sugar, stirrers, and cream, but bumps into the customer behind him. The old world style gothic brunette man only stares at Adrien in a forgiving manner with his blue-grey eyes. Adrien feels a spark of familiarity, and stares at the man, trying to remember where he knows him from. The man smiles slightly and then heads to a table where another man sits waiting for him. The man's back is turned toward Adrien, but the young man's structure closely resembles his nephew.

"Saul..." Adrien thinks he recognizes the man at the table. Without ever catching a glimpse of the man's face, Adrien watches both men walk out of the door and shakes his head.


	5. Chapter 5

"We gather today to lay rest to Braden Michaels. Braden was a junior in college studying chemistry, he was a star athlete on the university football team, and a friend to all who knew him. His untimely death is tragic, and he leaves behind his mother Amelia, and two younger sisters, Jayla and Rose..." A Pastor stands at the front of a crowd in a graveyard speaking as Braden's casket is lowered into the ground. The church choir behind him softly sings "Amazing Grace." The twenty-one year old athletic scholar, barely in his prime, and on his path to cleaning himself up, was shot down by a junkie trying to rob him for cash or drugs.

Raul sits quietly in the fold-out chair, tears streaming down his face. The thoughts in his mind are so loud he can barely hear the pastor's speech and the crowd's murmurs. His gaze is fixated on Jake's headstone. Jeff sits beside him, "That's another one from the old team, yea?" 

Raul slowly turns to acknowledge Jeff then turns away again.

"Dude, I'm sorry. I know you lost so many people over the last three years," Jeff consoles. 

Raul just sighs his response, as he turns his attention back to the pastor for the final statements. His faded jeans and skate company tee-shirt is hardly funeral attire, but the tee-shirt was given to him by Braden last year on his twentieth birthday. In the last three years, funerals have been a common event for Raul to attend. The twenty-one year old, undergrad student of Evergreen Valley University has become quite accustomed to the funeral procession. First Jake, killed by his own father, who has since disappeared, leaving Raul to live with his grandfather and his great uncle, who moved back into the house. The funny thing, Uncle Adrien and Papa Lucian don't believe what has become of Saul, or that Jake is dead, even when Raul points out his grave, they chalk it up to be someone with the same name. 

Adrien doesn't even acknowledge the fact that he moved out at one point, nor does remember his roommates. Someone, either Calaen and Lily messed with Adrien's and Lucian's heads, or Saul did. Raul has returned to the house, where Adrien was staying with his room mates on a number of occasions after the incident, but the place looked abandoned. He had no way to prove what they didn't believe, so he kept to himself.

The next to die, his friend Jeremy, who played defense with him, from a drug overdose, followed by Tre Colloum, leading quarter back of their high school team. Tre disappeared and his mutilated body was found weeks later in the forest. Caitlin was raped and killed by a suspect who has not been identified or caught yet. His little cousin Brock was hit by a car last year at age twelve, and his uncle Sal, took his own life shortly after the death of his son. Now Braden, his best friend, lies in a casket, being lowered into the ground, killed by a raging junkie, looking for a fix.

The pastor finishes his speech and blessings as the remaining family and close friends drop flowers, letters, and small gifts onto the casket in its descent. Raul gets up from his seat and walks to unfilled hole. He unhooks the gold chain from around his neck and drops it in the hole, then sniffs hard in a failed attempt to hold back his tears. Mrs. Michaels, Braden's mother dries her eyes with her tissue and opens her arms to Raul, "Hey, baby, I'm glad you could come say goodbye to him."  
Raul nodded, returning her hug.

She squeezed him tight, " Oh, Raul. Braden loved you like a brother. You two were always together. Don't you be a stranger to us now. You know you are still family," she says kissing him on the cheek.

He sees twenty year old Jayla and eighteen year old Rose, Braden's mourning sisters, staring down the hole at the casket. Rose wears a beautiful black satin, mermaid styled gown,with a plush satin sash that forms the chest top of the dress and wraps around one shoulder before connecting to the back of the dress. The skirt's black lace and black sequin layers peak out under the satin, giving the appearance of a saddened rose, specked with tear drops. Her eyes were bold in shades of dark mauve against her black liner. Her dark, flawless skin only makes her hazel eyes that much more noticeable. Jayla wears lace covered Hindu styled white suit with flower patterns embroidered into it. She wears a white veil with golden threads laced through it over her long beautiful black hair and a white scarf covering her cute button nose, her luscious lips, and her petite chin with the tiniest dimple, then coming to rest on her small framed shoulders. Only her big, beautiful light brown eyes, shadowed in gold and pink, were visible. Raul would make Jayla his queen if he could. She is everything and more that he wants out of love and out of life, but he fears she may only love him as a brother, and nothing more. The two of them have a great connection to one another. Raul remembers countless nights he would stay at their house and couldn't sleep. Braden would fall asleep within minutes, out cold, but on many occasions, Raul found that Jayla would also be awake, either sitting on the balcony or in her bedroom with the light on. He would sit with her on the balcony or lay in her room on the floor for hours talking with her until they both fell asleep.

Jayla put her arm around her sister, and Raul put his arms around both girls from behind. They both embraced him tight while their mother watched her "adopted son" step up and be a supportive brother to the girls. Rose lets go to satnd by her mothers side as the remaining guests begin to head toward the gate. Mrs. Michaels thanks the few lagging guests for coming and walks to her car with Rose by her side, "Jayla, baby, you coming home with me?" She yells back to her older daughter while she and Rose get into the car. "No. I think I'm going to walk home with Raul if that's ok," she answers her mother, shyly smiling at Raul. He smiles back at her. "Well, go on then. I'll see you both at the house," she yells, closing her door, then turns to Rose, "Your sister better come on with it, you know she wants that boy, he's a good boy, and he ain't gonna wait around for her," she says, then starts the car. Rose giggles and shakes her head, "Mama, you crazy."

The walk home was mostly quiet. Raul was happy to have Jayla's company, but he didn't know how he could begin a conversation with her. His emotional and mental well beings have been tried and put through so much over the last three years that it became harder and harder to pick himself back up when he was down. Then he felt her petite hand slip into his. Her hand felt cold, but her touch made him feel warm. They both stopped momentarily to look into one another's eyes.  
Jayla pulls him to her and hugs him, "Thank you for being here for us today."  
He wraps his arms around her and breaths her scent in deep while holding her so close to him. He pulls away slightly to look into her beautiful light brown eyes again, then leans in to kiss her. Nervous, Jayla turns her head and Raul kisses her cheek. He sighs his embarrassment, and they begin walking again toward Jayla's home.

When they reach the front door, Raul quickly hugs her, "See ya, Jay," then he turns to leave.  
Jayla grabs his hand, "Where are you going?"  
"Home," he says, trying not to make eye contact with her.  
"Why don't you come in for a while?"

Raul sighs, but nods and steps in the door behind Jayla and follows her up to her bedroom. Jayla flicks the light switch on the lavender painted wall next to the door to light the room. She then lays her cellphone on the night stand, just to the left of the door, under the light switch, and lays her veil and scarf on the full size bed lined with plush pillows in purple and white and a thick purple comforter, on the other side of the night stand and against the wall. She makes her way over to her walk in closet on the opposite side of her room. Raul sits on the bed, waiting patiently. She opens the closet door and hits the light switch on the wall next to the closet door. Raul has never seen the closet open before. He peeks in from the bed to see the spacious room. From where he sits the only section out of view is the left side of the closet. On the right side he can see two capraia style tall chest dressers under the shelves that line the walls. On the shelves are books, a jewelry box, and clear plastic utility drawers that hold miscellaneous clothing material. The back wall of the closet, where Jayla stands, is a full length, wall-to-wall mirror. She looks at his reflection in the mirror and smirks, seeing him watch her. She kicks off her shoes slowly pulls off the pants to the suit, revealing her white lacy thong. She looks at his reflection in the mirror again as she bends over slightly to slip her feet out of the pants. Raul swallows hard and adjusts his sitting position to hide the erection in his pants.  
"Raul," Jayla calls to him as she pulls her hair up off of her neck.  
"Yea," he answers, trying to play it cool and calm his nerves.  
"Can you come in here and unbutton the back of this shirt for me?"  
"Sure," Raul gets up and joins Jayla in the closet.  
He begins slowly unbuttoning the shirt for her. He inhales deep to calm himself, but she leans her backside into him and rubs her derriere against his front, feeling his stiffened member.  
He finally opens the last button on the shirt and she quickly slip it off, then reaches her arm up and behind her to run her fingers through his wild hair and caress his face.  
Raul moves his lips to her ear and whispers, "What are you trying to do to me," before he dives in to gently kiss her neck. 

Raul unsnaps Jayla's bra and guides it off of her arms. His pants are becoming visibly wet, but Jayla continues to tease him, bending over to pull off her lacy thongs. Finally she reaches her hand back and grabs his dick through his pants, and she can feel how wet he has become.  
"I have never had sex before, but this feels so right with you," Jayla whispers.  
"We don't have to do this if you are uncomfortable, I can wait," Raul prepares himself for the pain he will have if he doesn't release.  
"It's ok," Jayla tell him, turning around to unfasten his pants and let them drop to his ankles, "teach me," she nods toward the mirror.  
Raul takes off his shirt and turns her back toward him, so that she faces the mirror.  
He begins kissing her neck and ear, using one hand to lightly caress her breasts, while the other caresses her down below, stimulating her and slipping inside of her. his cock gently rubs against her from behind, lubricating her with his pre-cum.  
Jayla begins to moan.  
"Are you ready?" Raul asks her, and she nods her response to him. 

Raul slowly pushes himself inside of her, making sure to stop, allowing her virgin vagina to adjust to the length and thickness of his cock. Once fully in, he begins to prod in and out slowly, tucking himself deep and grinding with each entry. She begins to moan a little louder, watching Raul behind her in the mirror.  
"Can I try riding you?" Raul nods his head and gently pulls her to the closet floor, where she climbs on top of him and begins riding and grinding his dick inside of her.  
He can feel her body tighten and splash all over his cock.  
"Jay, get up a second," Raul whispers to her, but her moans have become louder and she keeps moving, enjoying the sensitivity of her orgasm.  
"Mmmmm, Jay, baby..."  
"You feel so good inside of me Raul," she says as she thrusts down hard on him.  
"Nnnnnaaaaaggghhhh," Raul begins to climax on her last thrust, his initial blow landing deep inside of her.  
He manages to lift her up off of him, "Huh?"  
Raul finishes coming on himself, "Sorry... I was... Coming," he strains in between labored breaths. "Huh?" Jayla looks down to see him finish, "Oh." 

Jayla giggles and Raul rolls his eyes. She stands up and opens her middle dresser drawer to pull out a pair of yoga leggings, then the top drawer to pull out a long sweater. She reaches up onto the shelf to pull a clean towel down and hands it to Raul. He grabs the towel and wipes the cum off of his lower abdomen and his dick, then stands and pulls his pants up, throwing the towel into the hamper on the left side of the closet before buttoning his pants. 

Jayla sits on her bed and turns on the television mounted on the wall across from her bed, "Anything in particular you want to watch?"  
Raul sits next to her, "No, just whatever."  
She can see his mind is elsewhere, "What's wrong?"  
"Nothing," he answers short and quick.  
"It was my first time, if you are disappointed with the sex," Jayla defended herself.  
"Oh my God, why would you even say something like that?" Raul put his arm around her, giving her a puzzled look, "The sex was fantastic, baby."  
"What's on your mind, then? Do you feel guilty for sleeping with your best friend's sister after he passed away?" She hit one nail on the head.  
Raul chuckled nervously, "Yea, that's definitely one thing that's bothering me, but I don't think things will get weird between us."  
"What else is bothering you then? Or is that too private?" Jayla chucks a pillow at Raul playfully.  
He catches it and smiles at her, "Are you on birth control?"  
"Why would I need to be on birth control? I never had sex, well.. before today that is," she retorted.  
Raul put his hand on his head and sighed, "Please tell me you're kidding," he lays back on the bed, stretching his arms up then rubbing his eyes.  
Jayla lays with him and hugs him, "Why?"  
Raul rolls over on his side and props himself up on his elbow, "I didn't pull out soon enough, but if you end up being pregnant from this, I promise I will do the right thing, whatever it may be," he says, kissing her lips softly.  
"Aww, Raul, you're so cute, but I was playing with you," Jayla giggles. "What?" Raul pushes himself up, almost to a sitting position. "Duh... I'm on birth control. Just because I was a virgin, doesn't mean that I am not on birth control, in case something like this happens, or to control my menstrual cycle," she giggles at him.  
He grabs her and holds her on the bed while he tickles her, "You think that's funny, huh? You like playing with me like that? How do you like these tickles?"  
Jayla laughs hysterically trying to free herself from Raul's grasp.  
"Whoa..ho, where do you think your going?" He adjusts his hold on her so she can not escape.  
"Raul... Stop... Gaandu!" Jayla continues to laugh loudly.  
"Oh, I'm the asshole?" Raul laughs and he lets her go.

"I could be asking you if you have any diseases, you know," Jayla retorts, still laughing, though the question had a bit of a bite to it.

"What? No, I'm clean," Raul's tone suggested sincerity.

"Well, you used to run with 'Jinni, been around the block'," her statement hung stale in the room for a moment.

Raul exhaled heavy and smiled at her, "I never had sex with her. She was only an acquaintance. The furthest I have ever gone with her is kissing her, when I was wasted drunk, and I didn't like it. I didn't like her like that."

Jayla chuckles, her mood becoming playful again, "So you were a virgin too?" 

"No." Jayla could tell that Raul was uncomfortable talking about his past relationships, and she left it alone. Instead, she smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Jayla! Raul! Come on down for dinner babies," Mrs. Michaels yells up the stairs.  
When they arrive downstairs, Rose and Mr. Michaels are already seated at the table. Mrs. Michaels was no executive chef, but to Raul, her cooking was better than his grandfather's. The smell of candied yams and seasoned greens filled the entire first level of the house. Mrs. Michaels placed the roast on the tables as Raul and Jayla entered the dining room. They all take their seats at the table and join hands to say a prayer and a last goodbye to Braden. Mr. Michaels' soft whimpers can be heard under the prayer.

***  
Lucian races around the kitchen putting together a roasted chicken spiced with orange zest, basil, and rosemary, and stuffed with cranberry stuffing. Evie enters through the back door after taking the trash outside to the large container and begins cleaning the dishes as Lucian cooks.  
Lucian hears the front door close as he begins to whip up a chocolate mousse pie, "You're early."  
"Better early than late," Adrien and Nate hang their dress coats in the closet by the front door and make their way to the kitchen, "Smells great in here already," Adrien sits down where a bowl of cranberry stuffing waits on the table.  
"You will have to wait," Evie shoos Adrien's hand away from the cranberry stuffing.  
After stuffing the bird and putting it in the oven, Lucian takes a seat at the table with his brother and Nate. He lets out a long sigh and lights a cigarette, "What's up, bro? I thought you were Raul coming in the door."  
Evie stands behind Lucian and begins rubbing his shoulders, "Ugh, you really don't need this," she cracks, pulling the cigarette out of his mouth and smashing it in the ashtray.  
Lucian rolls his eyes, and pulls another cigarette out of his pack.  
"Dude, tell me your not hitting that..." Adrien scoffs at his brother, "Where is Raul anyway," he continues.  
"We supported each other through Brock and Sal's deaths, and we kind of got closer," Lucian smirks.  
"You dirty old man... that was your dead son's wife..." Adrien mocks.  
"Raul went to his friend Braden's funeral today. I don't expect him back anytime soon, he's getting weirder lately." Lucian answers, lighting his cigarette now that Evie has left the kitchen.  
"What do you expect, his mother was never there for him, he really doesn't even know her or her family, his father was a slut, then married another man and disappeared, he was on drugs for a while. Then his cousin and uncle die, he felt like he should have done something to stop it. I tried to tell him it isn't his fault, that no matter what he did, the circumstances may have been the same. On top of losing his best friend and a few others," Adrien draws out in one breath.  
"Saul? Missing? No, I've just wrote both him and Jake off as dead... They just haven't found the bodies yet," Lucian takes a pull off of his cigarette.  
"Lucian!" Evie calls from upstairs, "What do you want to do with these rooms?"  
"Be right back," Lucian winks and puts out his cigarette, then heads up the stairs.

"Thanks for hanging out with me, Nate. I didn't want to come here alone, it's been... really... something living here with all of this shit going on," Adrien lowers his head.  
"It's cool. You are welcomed to continue staying at my place for as long as you need to," Nate avoids direct eye contact with Adrien, but his offer is sincere. "Do you really think Saul is dead?"  
Adrien signs, "I don't know. No one has heard from him, but if he heard about his brother, chances are he's offed himself too. Jake is dead, why not Saul?"  
"How do you know Jake is dead?" Nate questions.  
"Raul. His stories might sound crazy, but there is a whole decade unaccounted for in my memory, and he knows something," Adrien stares at Raul's photo on the kitchen wall near the entrance leading from the living room.  
"Yea, like that guy you left me for, and somehow you don't even remember him," Nate remarks, folding his arms and staring down at the table.  
Adrien looks at Nate, dressed in his white button shirt with the top button undone and the black tie, to match his black slacks, loosened around his neck. Memories of their relationship haunted by Jason. It was devastating to stay in his old room in the basement at Nate's and know that what they had was gone. Nate was sharing a bedroom upstairs with Jason... Adrien just wants to spit every time he hears that name. Jason. Ugh. That guy purposefully does things just to annoy him, like throwing away the food he bought for himself, or replacing his soy milk with real, whole milk. Throwing an ink pen in the dryer with his work suits, now that set Adrien back quite a bit. And then for that added cherry on top, Jason likes to have sex with Nate on the living room floor, right above Adrien's bed. He can't remember leaving Nate at all, it feels like a conspiracy.  
Just before Adrien can open his mouth to protest, Raul walks through the back door, "Raul? Where have you been, man?"  
"Braden's," Raul grunts.  
"I'm really sorry about your friend. These last three years have not been good to you," Adrien offers his condolences, but Raul scans Adrien's outfit, his blue button shirt and navy blue tie to match his navy blue pants, then looks to Nate and scoffs.  
"Nathaniel..." Raul snidely calls Nate's full name, "What is this? You back together? I mean, I haven't seen you in a long while, thought you went back to staying with Calaen and his freak sister Lily," Raul growls maliciously in his uncles face.  
"That's it... That was his name, Calaen," Nate calls out, pointing at Adrien. "I'm not your grandfather," Adrien firmly stands his ground with his great nephew, "Don't come to me looking for a fight."

Raul exhales, calming himself, "I'm not looking for a fight."  
"I'm ready to listen to you, Raul," Adrien glances at Nate, "I believe you when you say Jake is dead."  
"Oh, now you want to listen. I tried to tell you three years ago that that good-for-nothing fuck, Saul, killed him, and then tried to kill me in one of his vamp rages." Raul takes a seat across at the table, across from Adrien.  
"That's the part I don't get. What is this reference to vampires you keep making?" Adrien holds his gaze on Raul.  
"Calaen, the prehistoric fancy boy you left Nate for, is a vampire. He drank from you all the time. I have even seen Lily, his sister, sucking on your neck. I've done my research, Adrien. Some vampires are powerful enough to get into your mind, and can manipulate memories by creating false ones and erasing real ones. They can read your thoughts, fears, desires, and faults, as well as influence your decisions. Some of them even have an alluring appeal to easily coerce people to go with them or join them. I have been back to the house you stayed in for ten years, but it looks abandoned, and I can't even get in when I try to break in. The same day I saw you and Lily in the bathroom, Calaen took Saul upstairs," Raul chokes back his tears, "He turned him, he even admitted to it. I overheard him tell you in Saul's bedroom, but at the time, I didn't understand. You left Nate to get your blood drained and nothing more. I never even saw or heard of you being intimate with Calaen."  
Raul's words do not settle well with Nate. He begins to think that maybe Adrien had to abandon his friends and family to protect them from Calaen, and others like him. He let Saul become exposed to this, and now Saul is missing, dead, or worse... undead.  
"I'll search for Saul with you, Raul. I'll fight this fight with you," Adrien states firmly.  
"Adrien, what are you doing?" Nate questions, still unbelieving.  
"I appreciate everything you have done for me, but I just..." The room falls silent with disgust when they hear Lucian's and Evie's pleasurable moans coming from upstairs.  
"Is he fucking for real?! That's uncle Sal's wife! Talk about keeping it in the family..." Raul paces back and forth in the kitchen, irritation visible worn on his face.  
"Yea, get this, I think she's pregnant too," Adrien informs them.  
"What?! EW! I didn't need to hear that. How do you know this?" Raul's shock interrupts his thoughts about his father.  
"Lucian keeps telling me she's sick, whenever I talk to him or invite him out, and I walked in on them the other day discussing which names they like best."  
Raul shudders, "Ok, with that in mind... What were we talking about?"  
"I just can't stay there anymore Nate. I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to offend you, but I just can't take Jason anymore. He does things to hurt me intentionally. He knows that I am still in love with you, he cost me a lot of money that I really don't have because of the pranks he has pulled on me, like throwing ink pens in the dryer with my suits, throwing away my food, or doing stuff to it to make me sick," Adrien begins to tell Nate.  
"Oh... Those set backs? Why didn't you say anything? I thought you were being frivolous with your money. I didn't realize..." Nate swallows his heart, it feels like.  
"And the worst part," Adrien sniffles a bit then clears his throat, "He likes to make love to you, nice and loud, right above me. He knows I can hear you, and when you go upstairs to bed, he comes downstairs to watch me cry," Adrien clears his throat again, "I... uh... don't know, or rather can't remember... what I did to you, but I'm sorry. I am ,honest and truly, sorry. Since I have been staying with you, it has only made things so much harder for me, and uh... I..." scratching his forehead and licking his lips quickly, he tries to continue, "I just can't live... like that," he swallows and a tear escapes his right eye, choking out his last word, "Anymore... Excuse me," Adrien gets up and quickly runs up the stairs to what used to be Saul's room, and into the bathroom. Splashing the cold water on his face cools him off and shocks him out of his depression. He grabs the towel hanging on the rack, it still smells of Saul's cologne. He hugs the towel close to him, inhaling the scent deeply, he realizes how much he misses his nephews, and how far he has grown from his brother. He hears Lucian giggling and moaning in his bedroom down the hall, and he looks down at himself and sighs, "Jesus Christ... Forty-three years old and my fifty-eight year old brother's dick works better than mine does... Well, it sees more action than mine does for sure," he chuckles then combs his hair and exits the bathroom. When Adrien arrives downstairs, Raul is the only one left sitting at the table.  
"Where is Nate?"  
Raul sharpens a knife against a hand held grinding stone, "He said he had to take care of something."  
"Yea, OK, you mean I made a fool of myself and it made him uncomfortable, so he left," Adrien sits back down in the chair and takes a cigarette from Lucian's pack.  
Raul scoffs, "Yea, something like that."  
Lucian and Evie come down the stairs, "Bro, you smoking my stogies?"  
"I just took one, anyway, we're outta here, come on, Raul," Adrien leaves out the back door followed by Raul, who smirks and waves sarcastically at his grandfather.

"Ugh, that kid is just like his father," Evie rolls her eyes watching Raul walk down the back stairs. 

"Babe? Can we not talk about my sons? They are my past, our past, let's put that behind us and start over with this one," Lucian rests his hand on Evie's barely showing baby bump.

"I guess no one is joining us for dinner," Evie sighs.  
"Hmmph, I guess not." Lucian takes the bird out of the oven and sits it on the stove top, then goes into the living room and sits on the couch. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the photo he took at Sal's graduation. Sal dressed in his cap and gown with his awards in hand, Saul and Adrien standing on either side of him with their arms around him, Evie hugging Sal from the front and Jake with his arm around Saul. All of them smiling, happy for Sal's accomplishments.  
"What's up, babe?"  
Lucian slips the photo back in his pocket and turns on the television.

***

Nate enters his house, frustrated about what he has learned of Jason's tormenting Adrien.  
"Your home. You have to work late?" Jason pours himself another glass of wine. "There's leftovers in the fridge."

"I'm not hungry," Nate spits. "I heard about the way you've been treating Adrien, dude."

"Oh, you were hanging out with... Him," Jason's tone becomes mean and sarcastic. "Well, dude, he's a complete loser dick, and now he's telling lies about me?"

"What reason does he have to lie?" Nate firmly holds Jason's gaze.

"Oh come on, he's still in love with you, even though he ditched you first," Jason breaks eye contact with Nate. " What the hell did he come back for? And you got slurped up like a sucker and invited him to live here with us."

"Did you ruin his clothes?" The anger in Nate's hazel eyes flickered with hatred.

"What are you talking about?" Jason fumbled with his hands, trying to keep calm.

"Answer the question. Did... You... Ruin... His... Clothes? Did you purposefully make him sick by messing with his food? Did you want to have sex in the living room on the floor so he can hear us? And when I went to bed, did you intentionally go down to the basement to watch him hurt?"

"I... Well... Come on babe, he's a loser. You and I are better than he is. Look at him, his broken family. His brother is the only one with decent status and he's got issues. I mean, both of his sons are dead and his wife has been dead a long time. Now he's living with and dating his dead son's wife." Jason tries to explain himself, but Nate's eyes do not soften.

"Fuck you. We're done. Get out of my house," Nate points toward the front door.

"What? Ten years, you're actually going to throw away ten years? You're an accountant, aren't you people supposed to be smart, and good with balancing the numbers, positives versus negatives, etc."

" Hmm, the negatives seem to out weigh the positives, here," Nate says, still pointing toward the front door.

"Fine, fuck you too, I'll get my lawyer to deliver the papers." 

"No need, Adrien works for a law office, they'll be at your front door tomorrow morning, along with your belongings." With that final statement from Nate, Jason slammed the front door on his way out.

***

Adrien and Raul head over to the dark, deserted neighborhood where he stayed with Calaen and Lily. His phone rings in his pocket, "Nate? Hey. I'm sorry for the way I acted, it was really selfish and stupid of me to... What? You want me to draw up divorce papers? I can have them by eight o'clock tomorrow morning if I work on them tonight. Are you absolutely sure? Ok. You're welcome, yea, I... Uh... I love you too... Ok, bye," Adrien hangs up the phone and continues to his destination with Raul.

They stop in front of the old Victorian style house, "That it?" Adrien feels a sense of Deja Vu, but no clear memories come to mind. Raul reaches in his back pack and pulls out a large, sharpened Bowie knife and gives it to Adrien, "You'll need this." Then he pulls out a large, sharpened military survival knife, and put his back pack back on his back, "Let's go." "What the hell is all this for?" Adrien tries to conceal the large knife. Raul laughs at his uncle, "You can't conceal that and whip it out fast enough to use it, might as well risk it." "Use... Use it?! what the hell would I use this God damned thing for?" Raul chuckles at the tension and fear his uncle is expressing, "To kill that God damned thing in there," he points to the house, "Now, let's go!" Both men approach the front door, and as Raul stated, the home looks as though it had been run down and abandoned. Is this what the outside world sees when they see this house? What was it like to be on the inside, does it look different? Adrien wondered to himself. He decided to ask his nephew, "Do you remember what it looked like before?" As they approach the door, Raul hid to the side of the door, "Yea, it was really clean, well kept place inside and out. I think this is some sort of mirage. The only thing puzzling me is, I am not sure if they blocked us from them, perhaps they are not able to see or hear us either. Like entering another realm," he whispers. Adrien knocks a second time, but no one comes to the door. Just as they were about to walk down the decrepit porch steps, the door flies open, and an elderly woman stands in the threshold, "Can I help you?" Raul sees a blur or a glitch in his vision that the image may not be real, "Lily La Torre?" He calls out, stepping in front of the woman. The woman changes her image to a young, vibrant woman with long black hair, a yellow satin, sleeveless top, outlining her perky breasts, and a pair of tight leather pants that hugged her so every curve is visible. "Raul, you little bastard. I should have killed you back then. I heard you've been offing our kind," Lily bares her fangs and becomes temperamentally monstrous. "Where is Saul?" Raul asks. "I don't know where he is, nor do I know where Calaen is," she answers while moving closer to them in an attempt to attack. Adrien gasps and ducks in the corner, fumbling to grab his knife, but just then Raul snatches his knife from under his jacket, quickly dodges Lily's grasp, landing behind her, and swings his blade, taking off her head. "What the fu..." Adrien vomits. "This really isn't for you, is it Adj? Come on, let's raid the house. If they aren't in here, there has to be something here that discloses their whereabouts." 

Adrien and Raul search the house bottom to top, but so far, they find nothing that suggests where Calaen or Saul would be. While in Lily's bedroom, Adrien notices a photo of Lily and, who he can only assume is, Calaen, standing out in front of an abandoned apartment building, "I know where this is."  
Raul comes out from under the bed, "Huh?"  
"This photo of them, I know where this is, Raul. The city has come up around it, but this building still stands in an abandoned alley way," Adrien shows the photo to Raul.  
"I bet that's where they're hiding. Lead the way, Adj," he commands.


	6. Chapter 6

A gentle breeze blows through the crisp Autumn air at dusk, maneuvering between the sun's fingertips as it slowly fades away, grazing the cool grass, and then splashing through the leaves of the maple tree, before curling through Saul's chestnut colored, disheveled hair. He looks toward the fading light, then back to the FoxGlove flowers he is transferring from their pots to the ground around the maple tree in the center of the yard. It's getting dark, and there is no way he is going to stay out in the yard all night, again. He scouts the fenced in yard for cleanliness and any plants that need to be tended to quickly. For a home close to the city, the yard is fairly big. All around, the fence is lined with fruit trees, apples on the left side, plantains on the right, and on the back wall dragon fruit cactus plants. Saul stands at the patio near the sliding glass back door. The patio is decorated with beds of beautiful flowers he has planted. Orange Gladiolas and white Dahlias line the walk way. Blue Hydrangeas gather in each corner of the house, and the very small pond toward the back of the yard, just in front of the dragon fruit plants, holds a few Sacred Lotus plants, one of his hardest accomplishments. Two toddler boys pass by him, running and giggling as they play a game of tag. Saul chortles watching the boys play.  
Calaen opens the back glass sliding doors and calls the boys in for a snack and a bath, "Drew! Jayse! Come inside..."  
The twins are fraternal, and there is a slight resemblance to relation, but they are completely different, in physical traits and personality. Jayse has many of Saul's characteristics, a darker tone of skin, the chestnut colored hair, and a very skinny frame, whereas Drew is very fair skinned like Calaen, inherited Calaen's dark brown hair, but he also has a very small frame. Both of the boys have a different color tone to their eyes. Jayse's eyes are more of a sea green or calypso color, a mix of Calaen's blue-gray and Saul's emerald green, and Drew's eyes are an icy blue-gray, almost silver. Jayse runs into the house when Calaen calls, but Saul feels little arms and hands wrap around his left leg. He looks down to find Drew staring at him silently. He smiles at his son remembering when he and Calaen had planned to have a child.

*** Saul's Memory"***

Saul kisses Calaen's lips before pushing himself off of his lover and laying naked next to him on the old, worn mattress in the abandoned apartment.  
"I wish I could bear your children," Calaen giggles.  
"You want to give me children?" Saul asks in a playful tone, "Have you ever had kids in your long life?"  
"No, and as you can see, I have never found someone I would want to spend eternity with, until you, that is," Calaen chuckles.  
Saul clears his throat, "We are both men. If this stuff is still alive some how," he plays in the cum on his abdomen and rubs it on Calaen's chest, "our bodies can't support this.  
"No, you're right, but technology has made so many advances," Calaen points out. "There is a fertility research facility on the other side of town, they say they can combine sperm with a DNA containing cell to form an embryo. I guess they take fresh cells and hollow out the cells original programming so that it serves the same purpose that an egg from the ovary would. I'm not sure, it was very difficult to follow, but we could let them take some samples from us." Calaen nudges Saul with his shoulder. Saul ponders what Calaen has said and finds the information intriguing.

The research facility is an enormous campus of isolated, one story buildings. Calaen and Saul enter through the front door of the main office.  
A plump middle aged woman sits behind the glass window. Her glasses slope down the bridge of her nose as she thumbs through her paperwork, and without looking up she asks, "Can I help you?"

"Yes. My name is Calaen La Torre. I called earlier and I was told to come in to have a procedure done," Calaen speaks.

"Have a seat and someone from our medical staff will be with you momentarily," she points to the very few chairs in the lobby.

They sit down, both of them nervously excited to hear about the procedure, and hoping for the best outcome. A tall woman in light blue scrubs, a surgical mask, and her auburn hair wrapped up in a surgical hair net, opens the door into the lobby, "La Torre," she calls out in a burly voice. 

They follow her to the back. The procedure room is void of vibrant colors, except the blue scrubs worn by some of the staff, and it smells of an aseptic laboratory. An autoclave is set against the wall next to a counter with a sink, where another medical research staff member reaches in a bucket on the counter to pull out a brand new, plastic wrapped, disposable hand and nail scrub brush. Calaen watches as he lathers his hands with an aseptic soap from the dispenser on the sink, and begins scrubbing his hand with the scrub brush. When he finishes, he tosses the scrub brush in the steel trash can on the floor, next to the counter, and dons a pair of sterile wrapped surgical latex gloves. The men notice a wall in the back of the room with tinted, one way windows that peer into another, more isolated part of the room. The woman who led them to the room beckons for them to come to the desk directly across from where they enter. On either side of them are a row of large, steel, aseptic flow hoods with neatly wrapped, autoclaved tools set in them. Three medical tables, similar to what could be found at any doctor's office, are lined in a row in the center of the room. Another nurse washes her hands in the sink and dons sterile latex gloves. She approaches them with sterile sealed cups, "Let's get the easy part out of the way. There is a private room on the other side of the desk, you can go in one at a time or together, if you want. Label the cups with the marker in there, and fill them as much as you can." Calaen raises an eyebrow at her, showing that he doesn't clearly understand her.  
Saul leans over and whispers in Calaen's ear, "Sperm, babe. She wants us to come in the cups."  
Calaen nods his head and takes the cup.

They exit the room with labeled cups and flushed faces.  
"It's a small room with very little ventilation, sorry about that," the nurse chuckles, seeing the sweat forming to wet Saul's hairline. She waves a hand, directing them to sit on the medical tables, and requests for them to take their shirts off, by giving them hospital gowns to cover themselves. She then prepares an alcohol cleansing wipe, a syringe, and a needle to draw blood. As she draws Calaen's blood she explains the process of the procedure, "We have constructed a highly delicate replica of a human ovum, or egg shell, void of DNA. The nucleus of a white blood cell will be replaced with the haploid nucleus of your partner's sperm. The white blood cell provides organelles such as mitochondria, cytosine, and cyto-skeleton to protect and nourish the zygote. This is a highly sensitive and delicate process that is done in a sterile incubation tube. It will be approximately nine months before the babies are ready to enter the world, if this works." She she tapes gauze over the needle stick on Calaen's arm, removes her gloves, uses an aseptic sanitizer that she pulls from her scrub top pocket, and puts on another pair of sterile gloves, then begins to prep Saul for blood draw. "Remember that these children may be vulnerable, as they are not going through a 'normal' pregnancy, and there will not be steady activity, defensive antibodies and histamines, blood flow, or nutrients that would be provided to them in the mother's womb," she finishes taping a gauze sheet to Saul's arm after blood draw. "How many will there be? I mean, do you just make one or multiple?" Calaen becomes dismayed by the nurse's phrase 'if it works'. "We set up as many as we can, because survival rate is low." Calaen takes a deep breath and looks at Saul, who meets his gaze with calm, reassuring eyes. 

*** Backyard-Present Time***  
Saul sighs deep, "We got two out of five, that's a pretty good survival rate." He picks Drew up and holds him in his arms, "Ready to go in, little dude?"

Drew nods his head sleepily, and rests his head on Saul's shoulder. Saul hugs him tight, remembering how Raul used to hug him the same way. 

Jayse giggles and throws a cookie at Saul when he comes through the door.  
"What is this? I have to watch out for cookie bombs too," Saul hands Drew to Calaen. 

"Daddy, look out, cookie bombs," Jayse giggles.

"Oh yea? Well I'm the cookie monster and I'm gonna eat all of your cookie bombs and the I'll eat you, cookie man!" Saul lifts Jayse out of his high-chair and tickles him, pretending to nibble on his arms and belly.

"Where's Drew? He go night-night?" Jayse asks, seeing Calaen carry Drew into the bedroom.

"Yes, baby. He's tired," Saul answers the boy.

"Well, maybe he should sleep more so he isn't tired at this time." 

Saul starts to laugh, "He should sleep all day, like you, so he can be awake all night, like you?"  
Jayse ponders the question. Saul can see his son processing the question to his own understanding, then he nods, in agreement with himself, before answering Saul, "Yea."  
Saul chuckles as he makes his way to the boys' bedroom to wake Drew for his bath. Drew rolls over to avoid his Saul. He tries to tickle his child awake, but Drew kicks at him, "I'm tired," he whines.  
"Let me wash you real quick, then you can go to bed. I promise," Saul holds his hand up to show he will honor his word to his son.  
"Fine," he pouts. Saul picks Drew up and carries him to the bathroom.

Drew pulls the drain to let the water out, "I did it!"  
Saul smiles lovingly at the boy, "You did! Now, come here, let's get you dried and dressed."  
Saul carries Drew to the bedroom and tucks him for bed, "Goodnight sweet boy, I love you," he says kissing Drew on the cheek.  
"Love you too, I'm already sleeping, Saul," Drew says in a taunting singsong voice.  
Saul leaves the room, "Note to self, never mess with Drew when he's tired... Check." He finds Calaen pacing back and forth in the dining room, "What's up, babe?"  
"Lily, I haven't heard from her in days. I can't get a mental connection to her, and I can't get her on the phone," Calaen's words are muffled by his fingers in his mouth.  
Saul grabs Calaen's hand to guide it away from his mouth, "You know your sister, she is probably on some date and doesn't want to be contacted so she isn't answering her phone and she's blocked all telepathic connections."  
"I am stronger than she is, I have always been able to break her seal," Calaen's worrying has piqued Jayse's interest.  
"What's wrong Calaen?" He innocently puts his hand in Calaen's.  
"It's nothing Jayse. I haven't heard from Aunt Lily is all," Calaen tries to calm down. Jayse's eyes begin to illuminate and deviate from his natural sea green, to a bright pale yellow momentarily before changing back to his original color. Saul rubs his eyes in disbelief, and Calaen shakes his head. The kid is only three years old, how can he manipulate his form, or control his power? Maybe it was a wave that he couldn't control, Saul assumes.  
"My brother killed her, Calaen," Jayse says with a sorrowful tone.  
"Oh honey that's not funny to joke like that, besides, your brother is in the other room sleeping," Calaen is stern in his tone.  
"Raul is not sleeping, he says hunters don't sleep." Saul's heart jumps at the name. Raul. He hasn't seen Raul in years. He separated himself from everyone after the incident with Jake, and the boys have never been introduced to Raul, let alone, they've never even heard his name spoken. How the fuck does Jayse know who Raul is?  
Calaen gasps, "What did you say? Hunter?" He turns to Saul, "I knew I should have found him and cleared his memory, but I just didn't think it would escalate to this. He was just a kid."  
"Oh, you have nothing to worry about, Calaen, as long as you stay out of the way," Jayse lifts his hand and points to Saul, "It's you he wants to kill, daddy." "I'm going to check the apartment to see if she's stopped there," Calaen uses his vampiric speed to race to the apartment in the alley way. "Be careful," Saul's word fall flat against the door that Calaen shuts behind him. He turns his attention to Jayse, "Alright little vamp, it's your turn for a bath." Jayse grabs his toy cars and rubber duck and nods. 

***

"This is it. This is the building we saw in the photo," Adrien takes one final pull off of the extra cigarette he stole out of his brother's pack and tosses it in the alley way.  
"Doesn't look like much, does it?" Raul chuckles, remembering how the house had been portrayed to be abandoned. He points to each window, "Eenie, meenie, miney, mo..." he fixates his pointing finger on the upstairs window to the left. "I bet that's the room." "Why do you say that?" Adrien puts his hands on his hips and adjusts his stance, becoming skeptical of Raul's new found hobby. "Look," he points to the window. Adrien squints, trying to avoid the reflection of the street lamp on the window. Raul shakes his head and pulls Adrien to where he stands, "From this angle, the glare isn't a problem." He sees what Raul is talking about. Though the blinds are drawn, a maroon color is visibly moving behind the blind slats. "That's Calaen. It has to be," Raul says, picking up his pack and rummaging through it. "Come on, bro. We don't need to kill him too," an anxious Adrien pleas with his great nephew. "Let's just talk to him. I mean, if I left Nate for him, and I'm ok, he must not be that bad. Maybe we can talk to him and find out about Saul, and possibly where he is." Raul scoffs at his great uncle's softness, "Nah, we're not going to kill him, for now. I got a better idea, we'll follow him. Maybe he'll lead us right to Saul."

"You look like two lost puppies. What happened? Did you get lost in the big city?" A shaggy man with torn, ragged clothes, and a full beard approaches them. The man looks viciously hungry.  
"We were just heading home," Adrien politely answers. Raul shakes his head.  
"I don't think you boys are going anywhere," another man approaches them in the alley way. This man is stronger. Raul can sense his attitude is louder and his muscles are more prominent than the first man's. Both men look at one another and then up to the sky where a full moon shines bright. Their teeth become large and sharp, hair begins to thicken and spout out all over their bodies, and their nails thicken to become claws.  
Raul reaches into his pack slowly, "Here, take our money, we don't want any trouble," he says reaching into the pack, but when his hand emerges he whips out a pistol and fires two shots, pegging both men in the chest. He grabs Adrien's arm, "Let's go dude, those were my last two bullets, if the rest of the pack come, we're fucked."  
"What...what was that?" Adrien's face lost all color.  
Raul tucks his pistol away in his pack quickly, "Lycanthropes," he informs Adrien as they continue running.  
"Huh?" Adrien is confused by a term that isn't used in common daily conversation.  
"Werewolves. I'm going to have to make more silver bullets, and that shit is so expensive," Raul whines, trying to catch his breath.

Calaen searches the cluttered, run down room, but there is no sign of Lily. He breathes in deep and exhales slowly, focusing his mental ability to connect with his sister. Still no sign of her. Calaen sighs, then carefully exits the building. Once he is sure that it is safe to move, he begins walking through the city towards his old Victorian home that he shared with his sister. His energy is low from lack of rest and consumption, and he is unable to use his vampiric speed consistently. The city lights, that he admires, shine bright, but his mind is too frazzled to take them in, or even notice them. 

When he approaches the front of the house he notices the door is wide open and Lily's body lays, headless, on the porch. He rushes up the steps and snatches her in his arms, sobbing loudly. Where's her head? He looks around the porch, but doesn't see it. Calaen lets go of her body to search for her head, and becomes queasy when he stumbles upon it, peeking out from under the bush near the stairs. Letting out a moan, he tucks his face into his shoulder, then leans down in an attempt to pick it up and begins heaving. Calaen takes the head and the body of his sister and carries her to the back yard, where he uses the last bit of his energy to burn her. How could this happen? Who was with him? How was she caught off guard like this? The thoughts race through his mind among memories of his sister's long, painful life.

A twig snaps, startling Calaen in his thoughts. He looks around the yard, and tries to sense if anyone is close, but there is no one. He looks at the burning body one last time before turning around to walk up the side of the house where he heard the snapping sound. It's all clear. Calaen exhales his relief and continues on his path home.

***

Adrien watches Calaen carefully as he burns his sister's remains. Why wouldn't he remember a man this beautiful? He closes his eyes and swallows hard enough for Raul to hear it. Raul averts his eyes down to Adrien's crotch and scoffs, "Your brain can't remember him, but it looks like your body didn't forget," he let's out a small chuckle.  
Adrien sucks his teeth and slaps Raul on the back of his head lightly, "Man, shut up."  
"Tsst, he's moving out, let's go, and watch your fucking step. You're going to get us killed." Raul and Adrien quickly and quietly follow Calaen by cutting through backyards and parallel streets.  
"He's not heading back toward the apartment," Adrien informs Raul.  
"Shhh," Raul shushes his uncle, then sniffs the air.  
"What are you doing?" Adrien is baffled by Raul's behavior.  
"Tracking his scent, to make sure we are going in the right direction.  
"What are you, a fucking dog?"  
"Fuck you, dick," Raul chuckles, "When you spend time around someone or in their home, you can pick up their scent, and it helps if they wear a specific cologne, or use a certain laundry detergent, you get what I'm saying."  
Raul grabs Adrien and pulls him back. They sit and wait on the side of a house, two houses down from the house Calaen enters. The two story, white townhouse with beige trim is very modern for Calaen's old world taste. A fence with the tops of young fruit trees resting on its top, completely encloses the backyard. The porch is surrounded by mum's and rose bushes among other shrubbery to decorate the front of the house and walkways. Raul walks up to a window on the side of the house, that peers into what appears to be the living room. The room is nicely decorated with a plush maroon sofa and loveseat set, photos and paintings by unknown, underground artists hang on the walls, and an electronic fireplace with a television mounted on the wall above it. He sees Calaen run into Saul's arms. Saul, that bastard who ruined his life. He pulls his bloody survival knife out, anger taking over his better judgement, until he sees two young children run into the living room. Confused by Raul's expression, Adrien moves next to him and looks in the window. They meet gazes to exchange a confused look. Adrien whispers, "Who's kids?"  
Raul shrugs and looks back in the window at the children. How can he ambush them in front of young children. It will scar them for life. He watches as Saul picks up the brunette child and hugs him lovingly. Did they find women to procreate? If they procreate, are the children human or is being a vampire a genetic trait that can be passed on? He ponders the question as he watches the young child with a strong resemblance to Saul.

The child meets his gaze through the window, smiles and waves. Raul and Adrien duck before Calaen and Saul can turn their attention to the window.  
"Fuck!" Raul growls, "He knows. The kid knows we are here. He's one of them. Let's get out of here." He pulls at Adrien and they crawl around the house until they are out of site, then run back to Lucian's.

Raul rushed through the door, followed by Adrien, who slams the door shut behind him. Lucian and Evie are on the couch, her legs propped up on his, and their arms wrapped around one another during a make-out session. A movie plays on the television screen, for background noise obviously, because no one is really watching it.  
"I don't know what's scarier, Saul and Calaen, or this," Adrien gestures to his older brother and his new found interest.  
Lucian lifts one hand off of Evie to raise his middle finger to his brother without breaking his make-out session, then rests his hand on Evie's hip. Raul chortles at Adrien's comment, taps him on the arm, and nods his head toward the stairs.

He takes his pack into Sal's abandoned bathroom and dumps his blades in the tub. Adrien follows behind him to see there are already bloody utensils lying in the tub, "What the hell?"  
Raul smirks, "Didn't have time to wash them off when I got in this morning." He turns on the water in the tub and begins scrubbing his knives and blades.

Raul's phone rings in his pocket, "Hey Jayla. No, no this isn't a bad time, what's up? Raul sets his weapons on a towel to dry. "Of course. No, I was out with my uncle and my phone was on silent. I'm sorry." He smiles on the phone, "I'll be there tomorrow." 

"He had children in the house," Raul sits next to Adrien on Sal's bed.  
"Who were they? They acted like a family," Adrien shakes his head in confusion.  
"I couldn't ambush them in front of kids," Raul turns away to stare out the window blankly, thinking about how lovingly Saul treated those children. "We go back tonight, scope the place out again and watch them."

"Whoa, Raul who said I was up for doing this shit again? Dude, it's two in the morning, I promised Nate I would draw up divorce papers to be delivered at eight to fuckweed, I'll have to spend the rest of my night doing that, then I still have to work all day," Adrien sits on the bed and lifts his glasses to rub his eyes.  
"You don't have to come with me," Raul scoffs, "If anything, you'd just get in my way. I'm going back today," he states, making his way to the shower where he just cleaned his gear.  
Adrien gets up. Grabbing his laptop out of it's case, he sits at the desk in Sal's room and begins working on creating the divorce documents for Nate. He's so tired, all he really wants to do is sleep, but he's loved Nate for so long. Even with Jason around, he managed to bond with Nate affectionately, as a best friend, but his love for the man never faded. It only became stronger, and made it hurt so much worse to see Nate with Jason. Adrien tried to respect Jason and Nate's relationship, but Jason went out of his way to hurt Adrien every chance he got. Thinking of what that dick did, he started working as fast as he could to get the document drawn up. He didn't want Nate to have any ties to that piece of shit anymore.

Six A.M. Finished. Adrien reads over the document carefully too look for any areas that need further editing. It's good. Adrien sighs and sits back in the chair. He takes his phone out and calls Nate.  
"Good morning, sunshine. It's finished. Ok. I'll see you after work. Nate, I have a question, do you really still love me and can we go back to the way our life was, before all of this shit happened? Ok, yes that was two questions... I know... I understand it will take time, as long as we love each other we can get through this. Thank you... What do you mean for what? You took me in, after everything that happened between us, against Jason's wishes, you came to my defense, and you left Jason. Ok... I have another question, can we take in Raul? He can't stay here... My brother went off the deep end after Sal died, he lost both of his sons and a grandchild... He's drinking all of the time, and his only interest is fucking Sal's widow... Dude I think she's pregnant by him, he doesn't even care what Raul does anymore... And tonight, I've seen what Raul has been into. We'll talk about it later... I love you, Nate. Thank you again... Hehe, of course, I have another question later, but I don't want your answer right away. I want you to take your time given the situation and the circumstances... See you then." Adrien hangs up the phone and pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket. On the paper is a picture of a men's engagement ring advertisement by a jewelry company with the item number. Today's date is handwritten in the corner and 5:00 P.M. pick up, written underneath it. Adrien looks to Raul, asleep on Sal's bed, slips the paper into the pocket of his work pants, then goes into the bathroom to shower and get ready for work. He gets dressed, brushes his teeth, and Combs his short, shaggy brown hair back. On his way to work he stops by the address that Nate gave him over the phone. Adrien knocks on the door. The door opens and an older man in his sixties stands in the foyer. Good morning sir, does Jason Hernandez live here? The old man yells up the stairs, "Javier, hay un hombre con un traje en la puerta para ti." A man's voice calls from a room upstairs, "Sí, papa. Ya voy." Jason comes to the door wearing only loose fitting gray athletic pants showing off his lean toned mid-section, and his hair is disheveled by bedhead, "What do you want?"

"I'm here to deliver your documents, courtesy of Nathaniel O'Halloran," Adrien's victory smirk begins creeping across his face.

Jason grabs the documents and skims through them. He inhales deeply and looks up toward the ceiling, but a single tear rolls down his cheek. He shakes his head and sarcastically exhales a chuckle.  
"Can you sign this, acknowledging that you have received the documents?" Adrien holds another paper up with a signature line, and a pen.  
Jason sniffles, glaring at Adrien with hatred. He takes the pen and the paper, leans on the wall and signs the paper, then shoves the pen and paper into Adrien's chest.  
"Thank you," Adrien starts, but he is cut off by Jason.  
"Fuck you, you weaseling little prick! You took everything from me." Jason slams the door.

***

Three-thirty in the afternoon. The office is quiet. The last client for the day leaves the office. The only lawyer left in the suite comes out of his personal office and sets the documents from her case on Adrien's desk. He begins sorting the documents, while watching the clock.

Yes! Four o'clock. Adrien locks his desk drawers, "See you tomorrow, John," he says as he grabs his laptop and runs out the door.  
He stops in front of James Jewelers and pulls the advertisement out of his pocket. Inhaling deeply, he enters though the front door and walks up to the young man behind the counter, "Hi. Adrien Martinez. I am picking up, this," he hands the paper to the salesman.  
The salesman opens a door behind the counter, Father, Martinez is here to pick up his order."  
A short, balding, old man comes out from the back with a ring case. He opens the case, "How do you like it? I've sized it to a ten for you, and added the signature 'Forever yours'."  
"It's perfect," Adrien says looking over the white gold, men's engagement ring with small diamond stones lining the edges.  
The old man closes the case and wraps it up. He hands it over to his son, the clerk, who rings Adrien up. Adrien takes the case and puts it in his pocket, making his way to Nate's.

Adrien feels the case in his pocket before walking into the house.  
Nate peeks out from the kitchen, loosening his tie when he heard the front door open, "Adj, hey man, how was work?"  
"The same as always but my day is better now that I'm here," Adrien puts his arms around Nate to hug him.  
"Thank you, for delivering those papers to Jason this morning," Nate bends down to until his shoes, "He called having a fit, I guess he didn't think I was serious. So, tell me about your night last night. You said you were with Raul, how's that kid doing?"  
"He's great, and skilled in weapons apparently. Last night we went to the house I supposedly lived in for ten years. It looked abandoned, just as Raul said, but an old woman came to the door. She shifted her features to a young woman, Lily, and Raul sliced her head clean off. We found a picture..." Adrien is cut off.

"He murdered someone? And you were part of it?" Nate speaks in a raised whisper.

"No, a vampire, she attacked us, and Raul got the upper hand," Nate rolls his eyes and sighs at Adrien's logic. Adrien continues, "Anyway, the picture was of an abandoned building in one of the city's forgotten alley ways. We went there and Calaen was there..."  
Nate takes a deep breath, "Oh," he exhales, "Did he speak to you?"  
Adrien shakes his head, "No, Nate, we were cornered in the alley way by werewolves. Raul shot them with silver bullets and we got away pretty clean, then we followed Calaen. He lead us right to Saul. He and Saul live together and are raising children together," Adrien finishes.  
"You said you had one more question to ask me, does it pertains to these horror stories?" Nate asks as he pulls two forks out of the silverware drawer and then pulls leftover chicken parmesan out of the refrigerator.  
"Oh, yea. No, it doesn't pertain to the horror stories," Adrien gets on his knee and grabs Nate's hand. He pulls the case out of his pocket, and looks into the nervous man's eyes, "Nate, I know I'm not the best person in the world, I'm far from it. I put you through some horrible things. I know that you are in the beginning of ending your current ten year marriage with Jason, and maybe this isn't the time. I don't want you to answer me now, I really want you to think about it, but Nate, I love you. I have always loved you, and I always will. I'm sorry for whatever happened thirteen years ago." Adrien opens the case, "Nate, will you spend the rest of your life with me?"

"Oh, my, God... Adrien," Nate stammers. "I don't know what to say. I will need time to think about this because honestly, I don't know how I feel about this... about you. I know I told you I love you on the phone, and I think part of me still does love you, but it could also be that I'm looking for familiar comfort in a time such as this, maybe everything that's happened recently has fucked my head up, and I'm just looking for some familiar comfort to get me through to the next chapter." Nate sits in the chair, "Also, I think we should stop telling each other, that we love each other. It's not healthy right now, let's wait a bit and see how we feel. OK?" Nate shoves the case back in Adrien's hand gently, "I can't accept it now."

Adrien stands and puts the case back in his pocket. He leans over to kiss Nate's head, " I'm going to continue staying with my brother. Maybe some time apart will do us some good."  
Nate swallows hard, but nods.  
Adrien puts his fork back in the silverware drawer and walks out the front door. Nate jumps up and watches him walk off the porch and down the walk way. He sees Adrien take the ring out of his pocket and toss it in the bush, just as he had done with the bouquet of flowers, stopping momentarily to lift his glasses off and wipe his eyes, then he continues walking up the street, heading home.  
Nate runs outside to pick up the ring. He slips it in his pocket and heads back in the house.


	7. Chapter 7

"Raul, baby, come on in. Thank you for helping me go through Braden's belongings," Mrs. Michaels hugs Raul tight to her. Jayla stands behind her mother and waves shyly to him.  
They anxiously enter Braden's room. The room had a comforting but eerily abandoned feel to it, and looks exactly as it did the day before Braden was killed. Raul's cot and blanket are still set out in the middle of the floor, parallel to Braden's bed, suggesting no one has entered the room since he and Braden left for class that day. If only Raul had walked home with Braden that day instead of staying for his internship. The programming director, Dr. Clark, was short handed that day and had asked Raul to stay and help him out. His gut feeling told him that he should leave early, but he didn't want to let Dr. Clark down.  
Raul folded the blanket and cot and put it away in the closet down the hall. Mrs. Michaels began going through Braden's dresser, while Jayla went through his closet.  
"Raul, if any of these will fit you you can have them," Mrs. Michaels gestures to the clothes in the dresser.  
"No, thank you. I couldn't. It would be too upsetting for me to have any of his belongings, knowing that he is gone," Raul's voice cracks, and his eyes begin to water. Instead, Raul refocuses his emotions by joking, "Besides, Braden is built like a tank, I'd be swimming in his clothes."  
Mrs. Michaels can see through his ruse, she gets up and pulls him into her, "We'll get through this baby."  
Raul shakes his head and holds her tight, letting his tears spill on her shoulder, "It just sucks that he's gone." He lifts his head and takes a few calming breaths. She let's go, "You going to be ok, I promise baby it's going to be ok, we will all get through this."  
Jayla has never seen Raul cry. Even at the funeral, she could tell that he had been crying, but she hadn't seen him cry. He was the one who comforted her and Rose when they were crying. Before Jayla knew, she had tears falling down her face. Raul wipes the tears from her eyes and hugs her. She squeezes him and begins sobbing. He kisses her head and rubs her back as he hugs her tightly to him. Mrs. Michaels smiles at them, "I have the dresser cleared if you want to bag this up." Raul kisses Jayla's lips before letting go of her, and begins bagging up the clothes that Mrs. Michaels pulled from the dresser, then the clothes he and Jayla pulled from the closet. Mrs. Michaels strips the bed and Raul helps Jayla carry the mattress, frame, and box spring to the large closet at the end of the hall, with the cot and blankets. Raul then helps Mrs. Michaels go through the rest of Braden's belongings. His sports paraphernalia, his video games, and his collections of music. They put it all in boxes and stack them in Braden's closet.  
When they finish, Raul carries the bags of clothes downstairs and puts them in the trunk of Mrs. Michaels car.  
Mrs. Michaels and Jayla meet him outside, "You two can go hang out until dinner. Raul, you handsome devil, I knew there was something between you and Jayla," Mrs. Michaels banters.  
Raul puts his arm around Jayla, "Thank you, mama. I can hang out for a little bit, but I can't stay for dinner. I have to meet my great uncle later."

Dizziness and fatigue sets in, forcing Raul to lay down on Jayla's bed.  
"What's wrong?" She sits on top of him, kissing and caressing his lips and face.  
"Head rush, I'm just tired. I haven't been sleeping good," he says in a hoarse whisper, closing his eyes and getting comfortable on her bed. Within seconds, Raul is fast asleep.  
"Raul... Raul!" Jayla calls him but he doesn't answer, "Ugh, this bastard really just fell asleep on me." Rose giggles as she walks by and Jayla leaves Raul sleeping in her bedroom, to join her sister downstairs.

***

Raul opens his eyes. His heart and mind begin racing, as he tries to orient to his surroundings and the time. Judging by the position of the sun, it has to be about five o'clock in the evening. Oh good, he's not too late. He gets up and follows the aroma of Mrs. Michaels cooking downstairs. "Hey baby! You decide to stay for dinner?" Mrs. Michaels sets a casserole dish down on the table. He runs over to hug her tight, "Thanks, mama, but I'm late meeting my uncle Adrien. I will be back tomorrow, to help you with whatever you need. I promise." Jayla walks up behind him and he turns around to hug her. He kisses her lips and allows his tongue to slip in her mouth, until she pushes him away, "Where are you going?" "I told you, baby. I have to meet my uncle, I'll be back tomorrow.

"Oh, so you can sleep again?" She instegates, folding her arms and turning away from him.  
He chuckles, "No, I'll be wide awake tomorrow," he turns her around and takes her into his arms, then kisses her again.  
Mr. Michaels stands in front of the door. He extends his hand. Raul takes his hand to shake it, them Mr. Michaels pulls Raul in for a hug, patting him on the back.  
"Thanks, pop. I'll see you again, tomorrow." Mr. Michaels makes his way back to the living room and Raul leaves the house.  
"Jayla," Mrs. Michaels calls her daughter's name in a firm tone.  
"Yes, mama?" She comes back out to the kitchen.  
"What are you giving that boy attitude for?" Jayla sits down on the chair, "I don't know, it's nothing mama."  
"Did you sleep with him?" Mrs. Michaels puts her pans in the sink and turns the water on.  
"What? Mama, that's personal," Jayla puts her head in her hand.  
"Uh, huuuuh, you did," Mrs. Michaels turns the water off in the sink. And begins scrubbing the pans in the sudsy water. "Don't go pushing that boy away if you like him, Jay."  


***

Raul runs up the stairs to find Adrien sitting on the chair at Sal's desk, "What's up with you?"  
Adrien sighs, "Oh, it's nothing," he takes a swing from the bottle in his hand.  
"You want to go with me tonight? I'm heading back to Saul's." Raul raises his eyebrow.  
"What do you think I'm preparing for, ya dunce..." Raul laughs at his uncle.  
"I thought you might have been forgetting something that happened today by lushing it out." Raul taps his shoulder.  
"Yea, that too. I just... Well, nevermind," Adrien tries to stand, but wobbles and nearly falls on his ass.  
"Whoa bro, drink your dinner tonight?" Raul laughs.  
"Yu..eiup," Adrien hiccups and leans against the wall.  
"Alright, let's go you drunk," Raul pulls his uncle up and helps him down the stairs. Adrien pushes Raul off of him, "I think I'm good bro." Both men walk out of the front door.

It must be trash day in Saul's neighborhood tomorrow, because everyone has taken their trashcans to the street for pick up. Raul swills the last bit of whiskey in the bottle and tosses it in a random trashcan. They notice a house across the street from Saul's that does not have the trashcan set on the street. Adrien and Raul stumble over to the house to check for occupancy. The lawn is overgrown, and looks like it hasn't been tended to in a few weeks. The windows are dark and have no shades or curtains for privacy. They walk up to separate windows and look in. Raul whistles to signal to Adrien that the room he views is bare. Adrien whistles back to confirm. The men meet on the back porch, "You think it's open?" Adrien asks.  
Raul turns the knob easily and the door opens, "Must be low crime in this neighborhood if they are comfortable leaving this home open."  
The house has no street lights near it, making it easier to slip through the shadows throughout the house. They set up camp in the living room. Raul pulls binoculars out of his pack, and the pulls out his blades. Adrien rummages through the house to find objects that can be used as weapons.  
"Shhh, you're pounding up the stairs, Adj. If someone walks by and hears they will call the police on us," Raul sucks his teeth and shakes his head, irritated with his drunken uncle.  
Adrien returns to the living room with a silverware set and a tool set, that the previous occupants had left behind, and takes a seat next to Raul on the hard wood floor. They peer out of the window into Saul's front windows, across the street.  
"I see them. They are sitting on the couch with the kids. Ok, Saul just got up and walked into the other room," Raul reports in a hushed whisper, "They're all there, we'll stay down for now." Raul puts the binoculars back in his pack, "Why don't you tell me what happened today, Adj?"  
Adrien leans his elbow on his knee and sighs, "Short version, I delivered the papers to Jason this morning and then went back to Nate's this afternoon and proposed to him... Like a fucking idiot. I should've known better..."  
Raul listens patiently to his uncle, "So what happened?"  
"He told me he wasn't sure if he truly loved me, he brought up what happened between us, he tried to say that I am a 'familiar comfort'," he makes air quotes to show that Nate used those exact words, "That he is using to get through this hard time. To be honest, I don't think Jason will sign the divorce papers, and I think that he and Nate will work everything out," he lights a cigarette, "Maybe it's for the better."  
"How did you propose to him?" Raul asks, curious if his uncle gave an unusual, sporadic proposal that may have made Nate change his mind.  
"I know what you're thinking. No I didn't Adj this one up. I stopped at James Jewelers and bought a ring that I had ordered to be sized and engraved specifically for him. I went to his house and told him that I didn't want his answer now, but I wanted to ask, and he pushed the ring away and spouted all this shit that I wish he had told me all along," Adrien chokes a bit on the last few words of his sentence then clears his throat, "Hey, we got anymore alcohol?"  
Shaking his head, Raul pulls a bottle vodka out of his pack.  
"Do you have a bedroom set in there too? How do you keep all this shit in that backpack?" Adrien jokes, grabbing the bottle and twisting the cap off.

The lights in Saul and Calaen's house go out. Raul stumbles over to where Adrien passed out and taps his shoulder, "I think they're out for the night... We'll sleep this off... And then, catch them tomorrow." He falls over and passes out next to his uncle.  
"Hmmph," Adrien moans.

***

Adrien wakes up to the sound of music, more specifically, "'Til Death," by Capture the Crown, forgetting that he had reset his ringtone for Nate in his drunken stooper. He is dizzy and his head feels like it is swimming as he sits up, "Yea." Adrien falls back down on the floor, "Huh?... Nope, so lock your door. You have no reason to," Adrien jumps when a balled up shirt hits his head. He turns around to see Raul smiling at him, "I gotta go," he can hear Nate yell his name over the phone when he hangs up. "What's the plan?" Raul puts his shirt back on, "We're going to get those kids out of there." "What? Dude, no." "I'm not going to fight Saul in front of little kids. We need to take them back to Lucian's," Raul finishes stuffing everything back in his pack and throws the straps over his shoulders.

Sneaking around, outside of his father's house gives him a chuckle. It would be something a child with firm, caring, and involved parents would do. His father could care less what he did, and even more less, if he was in danger. Saul is such a piece of shit. Why did they all put up with him? Their reasons are nothing but lame excuses, that Raul didn't want to burden himself thinking about. Calaen is the only one in the house with the children as far as Raul sees, "You are going to walk right in there," Raul pokes his finger into his uncles chest.  
"Why me?" Adrien gestures to himself in a panic.  
"Because you have a previous relationship with this guy, maybe he still has feelings for you... How do you do that?" Raul's change of subject throws Adrien off.  
"Do what? Get people to have feelings for me?"  
"Yea," Raul chuckles, "No. We've been out all night, and neither of us have showered. I smell like a fucking dump truck, but you still smell like fresh cologne and fabric softener, even your breath smells fresh even though you were wasted and smoking cigarettes last night."  
"Piece of gum?" Adrien offers with a embarrassed smirk.  
"You're serious? You had this the whole time?" Raul snatches a piece of the spearmint gum, "Un- Fucking-Believable. you could've said something earlier," he mumbles.  
"I have been chewing gum all night, you could have asked," Adrien retorts.

Adrien walks up to the front door, prepares himself, then knocks. The door opens and the beautiful man known as Calaen stands on the other side of the threshold.  
Calaen gasps, "Hello... Um..." He clears his throat, "How can I help you?"  
"Yes, I was walking through the neighborhood, and I saw you come out of this house. I'm sorry for doing something so sporadic, but I feel like I know you. Like we've met before."  
Raul picks the lock on the back door and slips into the kitchen. That's it Adrien, keep him talking...  
Jayse runs out into the kitchen and stops short, seeing Raul. Raul puts his finger up to his mouth to tell Jayse to keep quiet, Jayse nods and quietly moves close to Raul when his older brother beckons.  
"I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help you," Raul informs Jayse, calmly holding him. "I need you to get the other little boy in the house to come with us."  
"Raul, he is also our brother, Drew. He's kind of quiet," Jayse hugs his big brother.  
"You... You know who I am? Does Saul talk about me?" Jayse shakes his head to Raul's question.  
"He's never mentioned you, but I can see you, behind my eyes," he closes his eyes to demonstrate. "I'll go get Drew. I'll be right back."  
Jayse comes back moments later with Drew, holding a teddy bear.  
"Come one boys, we're gonna go meet papa Lucian," Raul picks up both boys and carries them out of the house as quiet as he can. Jayse puts his finger to his mouth to tell Drew to keep quiet, just as Raul had done to him.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think you have the right person," Calaen says, blushing.  
"Oh, come on. I'd never forget a face so beautiful," Adrien charms.  
A voice calls from inside the house, "Hey, Cae, where are the kids?"  
Saul stands next to Calaen at the door. He growls at the sight of his uncle, "What are you doing here, Adrien?"  
"Leave him alone, Saul. He's just passing through," Calaen tries to defend him.  
"And our kids are missing," he turns his attention back to Adrien, "Where the fuck is Raul? I know he was here with you, I can smell him." Jayse's little tidbit on Raul wanting to kill Saul plays in his mind. His form begins to change, "Are you two planning on hurting our children?"  
Adrien swallows hard, "Raul is your son too, and you were nothing but shitty to him."  
Adrien can see regret in Saul's eyes, but it fades quickly and becomes anger, "We are all very different now, Adrien," he grabs Adrien's throat.  
"Stop it Saul!" Calaen yells, "That is your uncle! Don't you dare put a scratch on him!"  
Saul gives a mirthless chuckle, "Don't tell me you are still in love with this... well, call him whatever you want."  
"I spent ten years with him, of course I still love him, but I'm in love with you, now calm your anger so we can find the boys." There it is. Calaen admitted to a full ten years spent with Adrien. The ten years he doesn't remember. The ten years that ruined his life, endangered his well-being, and stole his nephew.  
Adrien stands tall and takes a deep breath, "I won't tell you anything, Saul, so you might as well kill me." "What are you doing?" Calaen asks Adrien in a condescending tone. "I don't remember ten years of my life! I lost ten years and when it was over, I woke up one day thinking that I had been living at my brother's, and in a relationship with Nate the whole time. Only, when I got to Nate's, he was married, my nephews, who were my best friends were gone; Sal died, you were missing and presumed dead," he points to Saul, "The story is that you took off with Jake on some multi-tour, but Jake has a permanent reservation in Brick's cemetery across town," Adrien catches his breath and face Calaen again, "I hate you for what you've done to me. I don't care if you wanted Saul... ten years later, I wish you didn't erase my memory, or my brother's. He's doing horribly too. He's drinking more than he used to and he's got Evie knocked up and living with him."

Saul's features soften for a moment at this new information, "My brother is dead? Lucian is having a baby with my dead brother's wife? What about their kid, Brock?"  
Adrien sighs, "He's dead too. He was riding his bike and was hit by a car, some drunk driver. Sal and I rushed him to the emergency room, but he didn't make it. Sal fell into a serious depression and hung himself in his bedroom. Evie and Lucian comforted each other on his death and I guess they hit it off," he meets Saul's gaze, "Raul frequents funerals the way a kid his age frequents college parties."  
"Where are my children... all three of them?" Saul's demand does not have the edge it had previously.  
"Kill me, Saul... Please," Calaen turns away when Adrien begs his nephew to kill him.  
"No, Adj, I'm not going to kill you. We're going to see how right we can set things. Saul touches Adrien's forehead, but Adrien pushes his hand away.  
"I don't want my memories back," he sets his glasses atop his head.  
Saul touches his forehead again, "Tsk, shut up man, this will help you."  
Adrien's eyes widen as he receives his memories from the missing ten years. He remembers being with Calaen. He remembers the fight he had with Nate. He remembers the band breaking up because Nate and Adrien couldn't play together anymore after most of the band went their separate ways, and Mike's overdose. He remembers Calaen and Lily feeding on him, and he remembers Calaen turning Saul. Everything that was happening now all made sense, somewhat. "Lucian's. I think he took the kids to Lucian's," Adrien says. "I'm coming with you." Saul chuckles, "Adj, you're leading the way." Adrien grabs Saul's arm, "Thanks, Saul. There are some memories that I don't want," he averts his eyes to Calaen, "but I'm glad I have them."

Raul runs through Lucian's front door and seats the kids on the couch, "Pop," he calls until he ambushes Lucian in the kitchen.  
"Raul, slow down, what the hell is going on?" Lucian studies the frenzied look on his grandfather's face.  
"I found Saul," he pulls Lucian into the living room to show him the kids.  
"Looks like we better change your therapist... I don't think either of those kids are Saul," Lucian rolls his eyes and heads back to the kitchen.  
"Oh, for fuck's sake Lucian, I'm not crazy. Those kids aren't Saul, they are his other children. The little one that looks like Saul talks, he'll tell you," Raul explains excitedly.  
"Raul, I'll agree with you that one kind of resembles Saul," he points to Jayse, "But your father is dead, and even if he wasn't, he married a man, who might also be dead, how can they have children?"  
Jayse jumps off of the couch, "Hi papa Lucian. Saul is my father. Me and my brother, Drew, were made in a lab using the blood of Saul and Calaen."  
"Oh, my, God. You've got some poor kid spouting this crazy shit," Lucian walks over to Jayse, "Don't believe this guy, he hasn't been right since he lost his fathers."  
"I'm not spouting crazy shit, papa Lucian. I'm telling you what I know. Calaen was my mother cell and Saul was my father cell. it is the other way for Drew," Jayse helps Drew off of the couch.

The front door flies open and Saul runs in and grabs Drew. Calaen comes in behind him and picks up Jayse.  
"Why would you kidnap them?!"  
Raul snatches Jayse from Calaen, "Because these kids don't need to go through what I went through as a child, and they certainly don't need to be raised by monsters."  
He sets Jayse down and grabs the military survival knife from under his hoodie.  
"Raul, put that shit away. You know you can't kill me," Saul inches his way toward his son.  
Lucian takes the kids and brings them to the tent in the back yard.  
Raul grabs Calaen and holds the blade to the man's throat.  
Saul scoffs, " You can't kill him either."  
"Go on, tell him," Raul urges Calaen.  
"Yes he can, Saul. He cuts off my head, I'm done."  
Saul changes to his dark form, his fangs showing like a dog ready to attack. Using his vampiric speed, he comes behind Raul and takes the blade out of his hand. Raul ducks before Saul can hit him and lands a kick to his father's abdomen, that sends Saul back a few steps. Once he regains his balance, Saul is back at Raul. Calaen and Adrien team up, trying to stop the fight, but it's useless. Adrien is shoved into the banister, hitting his head and knocking him unconscious. Calaen grabs Saul and holds him back for a moment, but Saul rips away and like an expanded rubber band, he comes at Raul full force. Both, Saul and Raul, fall to the floor.  
"I'm sick of this shit," Saul lunges for Raul and sinks his teeth deep enough to pierce his carotid artery. Calaen get up from where he falls, and panics when he hears silence. Oh God, someone must have died, he thinks. He looks up he sees Saul draining Raul. Raul becomes weak and pale. Calaen reaches for Saul and pulls him off. When Saul awakens from his rage, he is riddled with guilt to see what he had done, "Raul..."  
Calaen pricks his own wrist and places it on Raul's mouth, forcing him to drink the undead life within him. Saul takes a step backwards, slowly, in shock at what had just happened.

Adrien lifts himself holding the banister. Raul still lay sprawled out on the floor, Calaen nursing him back to health.  
"So much for being good hunters," he mutters to himself.  
Calaen turns around to face Adrien, his eyes like ice cold daggers, then turns his nose up at his once lover and gives his attention to healing Raul.  
"He get knocked out too?"  
Calaen lifts Raul and carries him upstairs to his bed, without speaking a word to Adrien.  
"Fine don't answer me, you fancy fruit," he mumbles.  
"Fuck you, you lousy excuse for a fuck," Calaen yells back, irritated that he lost control of his composure. He didn't mean it. He truly loved Adrien once, but with everything that has happened just now, Calaen's nerves are frayed.  
Adrien puts his hand to his chest and whispers, "Ow..."

A few moment later, Calaen calmly walks down the stairs. His mind is a little more at ease, knowing that Raul is resting. Adrien is sitting on the couch, sleepily staring at the news."  
"Adrien, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that," Calaen tries to reconcile for his belittling comment.  
"Then why'd you say it?" Adrien clicks the button on the remote, stopping when he comes across a surfing competition. 

"I let my irritation with the entire situation get me to the point of wanting to hurt you, especially after your remark," Calaen folds his hands in front of him, properly.  
"Where's Saul?" Adrien changes the subject, not wanting to make lengthy and pointless conversation with Calaen, now that he has his memories back.  
"He went out back with your brother, I think." Calaen sits on the couch next to Adrien. Adrien can feel Calaen's eyes looking him up and down and it makes him uncomfortable, so he shifts further over on the couch and turns away from Calaen.  
"Can we just talk like friends?" Calaen moves over closer to Adrien.  
"Let me make myself clear. I don't want to be your friend, I don't like what you did to me. I don't like my nephew anymore either, he's become a god damned monster, and you made him that way. The only reason you are sitting here right now is because Saul is my brother's kid, and Raul's father. But know this, I'll honor Raul, in whatever he chooses to do over the last shred of respect I have for my brother any day," Adrien gets up off the couch to answer his ringing phone. He moves into the kitchen to talk, but Calaen can still hear every word he says.  
"Yea? I don't know, maybe. Because maybe I feel like shit. Ok, fine, we'll talk about it over dinner. See you then. Yup... Later"  
"Was that Nate?" Calaen begins making small talk again.  
"It's none of your business."

Lucian and Saul enter through the back door with the kids.  
"You ok, bro?" Adrien extends his concern.  
"Saul gave me my memory back, and informed me of the rest, right up until now. I can't say I'm pleased."  
"Ready to go, babe?" Saul picks up Drew and carries him out the front door. Calaen lifts Jayse, giving Adrien a sorrowful look, and leaves, following Saul home.


	8. Chapter 8

Adrien knocks on Nate's door.  
"Come in," Nate calls from inside the house.  
Adrien walks through the door to find the house calm, with only the fading light of the sun shining through the windows and candle light in the kitchen where Nate rushes around to set up dinner.  
"What's this?" Adrien enters the kitchen.  
"I thought we could have a nice, relaxing dinner, engaged in one another's conversation," he puts a serving dish with yellow rice on the table next to a bowl of guacamole salad, and spiced chicken.  
Adrien smiles, "I'd like that."  
Nate loosens his tie and grabs two plates out of the cabinet, "It's done," he hands Adrien a plate.  
Both men sit at the table and begin serving themselves.  
"How was work?" Adrien asks to start the conversation.  
"It was pretty busy... End of the month shit. How about you? What did you do today?"  
"I found Saul. I got my memories back, and I watched Saul knock Raul unconscious," Adrien admits, "Turns out, Saul and Calaen are living a married life together and they even had a laboratory splice their genetics together to give them children."  
"Nate, I remember everything now. I remember our fight, I remember the band split up because of us, I remember how awful I was to you, and I'm sorry. That douchebag I left you for, I wrote him out of my life today. He admitted to erasing my memory. He erased my brothers too." Adrien digs into the rice and beans on his plate.  
Nate inhales deeply and exhales slowly.  
"What did Jason say? Did he sign those papers yet? How's that going?" Adrien nearly chokes on his food thinking of Jason.  
"He's called, we've been going through the reasons for the divorce and he's asked if there is a way to work things out, but I don't know if I want to. I think I married him for the wrong reason. I was broken up by our break up, and he was there," Nate grabs another helping of guacamole.  
"And he's hot..." Adrien adds, laughing, "I hate to admit it, but I've got nothing on him... Talk about tall, dark, and handsome. Probably has a bigger dick than I do."

"Well, yea, he was pretty hot," Nate admits. Adrien scoffs and shakes his head, then Nate continues, "But he's not bigger than you, and your body is better." Nate puts his fork down and reaches for Adrien's hand.  
"You don't have to say nice things like that to make me feel better. You shouldn't worry about my feelings, we're not together anymore, and you're technically still married," Adrien interlocks his fingers with Nate's and meets his gaze.  
"Want to watch a movie?" Nate asks as he cleans up after dinner.  
"Sure. In my old room?" I'll get it ready."  
Nate grabs Adrien's wrist before he can go down into the basement, "No. In my room, upstairs."

Adrien hadn't seen Nate's room for years.  
The large master bedroom on the second floor had changed so much. All of the band posters and album covers had been ripped off the wall, which was stripped and repainted white. Fresh white carpet lay where the hard wood floor once shown. A brand new king size bed with wooden frame and posts sets with the head of the bed against the opposite wall and made up with fresh white sheets, a fluffy white comforter, and cream colored throw pillows. His old dresser traded for a new, unscathed, one, and a new, large, entertainment center with shelves and compartments to hold his video game consoles, video games, and sixty-four inch television, among other electronics Adrien couldn't identify, sits across from the bed, to the left of the room's heavy wooden door.  
"What'd ya think? I cleaned it up a bit," Nate chuckles, seeing Adrien's reaction to the new look of the room.  
"It's great! A lot different than what I remember, but I like it," Adrien smiles and sits on the bed.  
Nate grabs the remote and turns the television on, and chooses to stream Plex, a platform he uses to stream television shows and movies that he has stored on his server, then strips down to his boxers and climbs in the bed, under the covers.  
"Get comfortable," Nate bumps Adrien with his foot.  
Adrien takes off his shirt and folds it on the floor next to the bed.  
"More..." Nate suggests, "I know you're not comfortable. Relax, get under the covers.  
He moans and rolls his eyes, then takes off his pants and crawls under the covers, laying on his back and folding his arms behind his head.  
"What do you want to watch?"  
"I don't care," Adrien exhales.  
"How about 'Sleepy Hollow'?"  
"Sure," Adrien chuckles as Nate snuggles up to him and pushes the play button on the remote.  
Nate looks into Adrien's eyes, but Adrien refocuses on the screen.  
"What's wrong with you?" Nate whispers in his ear, then moves to his lips.  
Adrien returns the kiss hesitantly, but let's himself go when he feels Nate rubbing him through his boxers. Nate breaks the kiss and disappears under the covers. Adrien throws his head back with pleasure. His breathing becomes heavy, "Nate... No, wait... Stop," he pulls himself out of Nate's mouth and pulls Nate out from under the covers.  
"What's wrong?" Nate is appalled by Adrien's actions, "You have been acting distant all night."  
"I don't think we should do this," Adrien tells his bedfellow.  
"Why?"  
Adrien turns toward Nate and leans up on his elbow, "Maybe, I'm a little uncomfortable knowing that Jason was sleeping in this bed last night, it hasn't even gotten cold yet. Maybe, I want you to be sure that you want to be with me, and not use me as a familiar comfort," he cringes when he says the word.  
"We are both single now, we're friends, we are familiar with one another. You're actually going to turn down sex?" Nate scoffs.  
"Yes. You're right Nate we are friends, we're very close friends, but the difference between having sex with just a close friend and having sex with you is, I am still in love with you, and you told me you are not sure if you are in love with me."  
"So if another close friend asks you to have sex, you'd do it?" Nate rubs his face and rests his hand on his forehead. "No, that's not what I'm saying, Nathaniel. If we continue having sex, I won't be able to turn off my feelings for you when you are done with me. I'll stay in love with you and if you decide that you don't want me anymore, it will hurt bad, all over again." Nate sighs and rolls over, away from Adrien, "Fine, good night, Adrien."  
"What?" Adrien questions sharply.  
"Nothing... Goodnight."

Jayla paces her room frantically. She's called Raul several times yesterday, leaving messages until his voice mail box was full. Where could he be? Is he avoiding her? Did something happen to him?

"Mama, I'm going to Raul's and see what's going on, he told us he would be here yesterday, but he never showed or called," Jayla stresses to her mother.  
"I agree that it's not like Raul to stand us up, but it's possible something came up for him, and he just couldn't ignore it," Mrs. Michaels consoles her daughter. "Maybe his granddaddy will tell you where he is."  
Jayla leaves the house.

She knocks on the door. When Lucian answers the door, a wave of alcohol and stale cigarettes, disturbs her senses and causes her eyes to water.  
"Hi, Mr. Martinez, is Raul here," she says in one long breath, trying not to breath in the stench.

"He's upstairs in his bedroom. He had a fight with his father and was knocked unconscious. He should be getting around, I thought I heard walking around up there," Lucian leaves the door open and heads upstairs to his bedroom to wash and ready himself for work, "You can come up and go to his room."  
Jayla hears Lucian's door close. She stands at the bottom of the stairs thinking about what Lucian had said, 'Had a fight with his father... Knocked unconscious...' She thought his father was missing or dead? She knows he has fought his father before, and, according to Raul, his father killed his lover and tried to kill him after, but that is the extent of the story she has heard, and Raul never liked to talk about it, so he kept it buried inside of him.

She runs up the stairs and opens Raul's door. He stands near his bed with a towel wrapped around his waist, only he doesn't look well. His beautiful tanned skin now has a pale, sickly tone, and his eyes, he's not showing off his beautiful emerald green eyes, they are a pale icy blue. He's also died his Chestnut colored hair to a blue-black.  
"Get out. I don't want you to see me like this," he tells her in a low growl.  
"Stop playing baby. I don't care if you cosplay. If you don't want me to see it, take out the contacts and take off the pale makeup. I like what you've done to your hair, by the way, it looks so sleek and shiny," she tried to make him feel comfortable.

A few moments later, Raul emerges from the room looking as he always did. His skin tone is kind of back to normal, his eyes are emerald green again, and his hair has returned to its original chestnut color. "That was a wig?"

"Let's go with that... What's up, Jay?" She is baffled by how real that hair looked. He must be a professional.

"You haven't called or come over yesterday. Mama and I were worried about you. Everything ok? Your grandfather told me you had a fight with your father and he hurt you." Jayla opens her arms to hug Raul.  
He wraps his arms around her and kisses her forehead, "I'm fine, baby," Raul shows Jayla his face and head, then pulls up his shirt, "See, no marks." He smiles, hiding the fact of how easily he healed. Her scent is overwhelming, making him feel like a ravenous dog.  
"Jay, you should go. Give mama my love. I'll see you a bit later," he says escorting her out of his bedroom.  
"What are you doing? You don't want to see me?" Jayla steps aside.  
"No, baby, that's not it," he is able to hear Jayla's thoughts aloud and responds to them, "I'm not cheating on you either... I'm just worried my father will come back, and I don't want you to witness that, or worse," he takes hold of her arm again.  
She steps out of Raul's hold, again, "I never said that you were cheating on me."  
"You were thinking it, I can tell..." He playfully taps her nose with his finger. "Stop worrying, baby. I'll be fine."  
"You wanna get out of here and go somewhere, so you don't have to see your dad?" Jayla folds her arms.  
"No. Come on, let's go out in the back yard, to the arcade tent," he takes her hand and leads her down the stairs.  
"The what?" she giggles.  
"You've never been in the arcade tent? Wow, Braden used to love coming in here, you would too, if you ever came to my house..." With his sarcasm laying heavy, Jayla forces a giggle and follows him to the tent. She is amazed by what she sees. A row of arcade games on one side of the tent, and a stocked bar on the other. Aside from the smell of stale smoke in the tent, it's quite clean and maintained.  
"Well that explains why your granddaddy smelled like a bar whore."  
"Bar whore, huh?"  
"Oh my God, he smelled so badly of stale alcohol and cigarettes, that it burned my eyes," Raul grabs her and tickles her, sitting her on his lap.

"Yea, he's a mess. You want a drink?" The little cooler shelves are stocked full of beer, and Raul reaches around her to open it up and pull one out. A cold IPA is refreshing, usually, but now, it only tastes like ash. A liquid that does not feel or taste like a liquid as soon as it hits his mouth. Blah! He spits the beer out. "Ew! What's wrong with you?" Jayla jumps off of his lap. "I didn't like the taste... Sorry," he wipes his mouth and takes a second look at the label on the bottle, then sniffs it. The label is correct, it smells like IPA, but when he... Takes a sip, for the second time, it, again, tastes like ash. He spits again. Jayla grabs the bottle from him, "Babe, if you don't like it don't drink it. It really isn't worth it." He throws the bottle in the trash can and grabs Jayla's hips, pulling her close to him. He brushes her hair aside and begins kissing her neck. Her jugular pulse arouses him, his fangs stretch into position, as he sniffs her sweet bloodscent combine with her perfume on her neck. The thought of entering her as she enters him, hardens his body. He glides her yoga hosiers down to her knees, then unbuckles his belt and pulls his pants down. Teasing her, rubbing against her until she is hot and wet. Her moans make him crave her more. He thrusts into her, enjoying every, savory moment, sampling her throughout the entire session, to not spoil it.

Jayla turns to kiss him and there it is again. His hair is suave black, his eyes are icy blue and there is a dark fluid dripping off of his fang, and down his chin... his fang?  
"Raul, what is that? You got something on your mouth." She sniffs it, "Is that..." She puts her hand to her neck, when the feeling, of something trickling down to her shoulder, hits her, "Oh my God, it's my blood! Raul!"  
Jayla backs away from him, scared that he has done enough damage to kill her.  
Sensing her fear, Raul tries to calm her, "Jay, baby, what I did will not hurt you. I would never do anything to hurt you." Jayla doesn't want to hear that. She is frightened by what she sees before her, the man she loves, a monster. She pulls her pants up and tries to run out of the tent.  
"Jay!" Raul catches her, "Look at me!" He holds her shoulders, trying to keep eye contact with her, "I don't care if you never want to see me again," he averts his eyes to the ground, "I probably deserve that," he then meets her eyes with his own, "But don't you tell anyone that you saw me like this. Please?"  
"What happened to you?" Jayla whispers.  
"My father did this to me, he's one of them... A monster." Raul informs her, but turns his gaze away from her, toward the ground again.

Jayla takes a deep breath and continues to slowly lengthen the distance between her and Raul.  
Raul looks at her, "Baby, I told you that I would never hurt you, and I mean it. I took about as much blood as two vials that a doctor would draw for testing."  
"I am still not sure how to handle this, Raul." She walks over to the tent's entrance and turns around to look upon Raul one last time.  
"Mat jao krpaya," he chokes before she turns around and walks out of the tent.

Frustrated. The simplest way to describe what Raul feels, frustrated. Every emotion just irritating him more. Love... Sucks. Anger... Sucks. Sadness... Fuck that. Disappointment... Frustrating. Saul... Asshole.

Isolated, desolate, and desperate, he leaves the tent to find his great uncle. Without realizing how fast he is moving, he asks Lucian for Adrien's whereabouts, but Lucian does not hear him in the blur that zips across the room. The older chef continues cleaning his front room before he finishes readying his attire for work. Raul stops, "Lucian, god damn it! Adrien. Where is he?"  
Shocked by the sudden appearance of his grandson in front of him, Lucian stutters a feeble answer, "Uh... Did you try Nate's?"  
"No... Good idea. Thanks," Raul takes off with such speed, it's as if he disappeared right before Lucian's eyes.  
"I gotta stop drinking," Lucian mutters to himself as he ties his shoes and tucks the pressed collar of his uniform. Satisfied with the cleanliness of the house, Lucian exhales his relief and closes the door behind him.

Raul is impressed, arriving at Nate's within minutes of leaving Lucian's. That's impossible. It's faster than driving. He retraces his steps in his mind, thinking he must have been unconscious for part of the way, but he wasn't. He remembers taking every turn, right up to the walkway and to the door. Raul looks around him and picks a focus point, the stop sign at the end of the block. He reaches it in milliseconds, and begins to realize how quickly he is travelling, on foot. 

No one answers when he knocks on the door. Turn the knob, shit it's locked. He then focuses on being in the house and a gasp later, he's in, taking a few seconds to catch his breath from the dissociation of his molecules during the teleportation, "Fuck..."  
The house appears to be empty. The first floor is quiet and empty, and he doesn't see anyone on the second floor. When he comes back down the stairs he meets Adrien face to face in the kitchen, coming up from the basement, "Jesus fucking Christ dude, what the hell are you doing?"  
Nate comes up the basement stairs behind Adrien, "How did you get in here?"  
"I don't know. I think the door was unlocked. Why? I didn't disturb anything, did I? You weren't fucking or anything, right?" Raul smiles playfully, elbowing Adrien.  
"No... Your uncle turned down sex," Nate snidely remarks. Adrien sighs.  
"Oh, you did know that his dick don't work, right?"  
Adrien punches Raul's chest, "Fuck you dude. Don't say that shit... It works, at least, I'd like to think it still does," he laughs, his great nephew returning the punch to his shoulder.  
"It was up, he just didn't want it to be," Nate sighs, heading to check the locks on the front door.  
"OK, I'm going to leave that one alone... Adrien, I need your help," Raul changes form just as Nate comes back into the kitchen.  
Adrien watches Nate walk to the door and back. "The door is still... Locked," Nate stops and stares.  
Adrien follows Nate's point of view, "Raul. They did this to you?"  
Raul nods, "Yes, and your door was locked, but I was able to bypass it somehow."  
"The hunter becomes the hunted," Adrien comments, folding his arms and leaning against the wall.  
"Fuck that! I'm still going to hunt these god damned things," Raul drops to the floor, folding his legs and pouting.  
Adrien laughs at the childishness Raul displays, "You ARE one of 'those god damned things'."  
Adrien is right. Raul is one of the things he spent years chasing down and trying to rid the streets of. A monster. He thinks about his father, why his father shunned him like he did. Was Saul trying to protect Jake and Raul? From himself? How can he hurt his father now? Saul and Calaen might be the only ones who can train him to use and control his power, they may also be able to teach him how to detect the powers of others or see into their minds.  
He looks at Adrien, "And your dick don't work."  
"Burned by the kid, again, Adj," Nate laughs.  
Adrien's cheeks turn red again, "You want proof? I'll show you later," he points to Nate.  
"OOOH, we'll see..." Nate throws his hands in the air sarcastically at the threat.  
Adrien then mouths, 'I'll hate fuck you like a groupie, whore'.  
Raul stands up and grabs his uncle by the arm, pulling him aside, "You wanna have your little sissy fight some other time. I want to go."

Nate tries not to show his pain and jealousy. Adrien just called him a whore... Told him he was going to hate fuck him, not make love to him. Ouch. How many people has Adrien been with all of these years? Could he have found someone else? But, Adrien loves him, doesn't he? Or has he grown tired of trying to prove to Nate what Nate should already know. Wait... Does Nate really love Adrien? Even after all of this time, is he still in love with him? He has avoided asking himself the question because he didn't want to deal with it. He's gotten so close to Adrien again over the last three years, it's almost like they picked up right where they left off. A memory of he and Adrien coming home from a show and putting a movie on in the basement taunts him. He and Adrien smiling, laughing, having a good time, making love. He feels it, like a blow from a two by four plank to the chest. He does love him... Nate's breaths skip over the lump in his throat and he runs upstairs. The bedroom door slams.  
"What the fuck?" Raul questions.  
"Maybe he had to go to the bathroom," Adrien shrugs and leaves the house with Raul.

Adrien's phone rings a block away from the house. "Ugh..." He answers it, "What? Where am I going? With Raul... Are you ok? I'll call you back in a little bit. Yes, leave the door unlocked. I'll be back," his tone indicating his irritation.  
"Damn it! Let's keep going. He's really starting to piss me off. I don't even know what the fuck he wants anymore. It's hard to read him from one minute to the next."

Raul knows the routine between his uncle and his ex-lover. "Why did he call?" He asks apathetically  
"To see if I was going to come back to his house tonight or go home," Adrien appears tired. Everything that has happened this week is wearing him down. "Where are we going?" Adrien finally realized he is walking the streets with his twenty-one year old nephew. "I got word that there were a lot of people downtown turning up dead, organs missing, gashed up pretty badly. Sounds like Lycanthropes."

Raul pauses momentarily. He grabs Adrien's arm and holds him still, "Shush," he listens carefully to a howl in the distance. A breeze blows in from the same direction and Raul sniffs the air. He grimaces when he catches the smell of freshly ripped flesh, rotting breath, and wet dog on the breeze.  
"This way!" He pulls Adrien through the streets as fast as Adrien's legs can move.  
"Raul... stop. I... can't... breathe." Raul stops and let's go of Adrien, who falls to his knees coughing and gasping for air. "Why are you so old?" Raul jokes, but the joke has the opposite effect on Adrien. "Dude, I'm human, not immortal, and human deficiencies, like asthma, affect me," Adrien stands and brushes his pants off. 

They stop in the downtown sqaure. A municiple court building's clock chimes eight o'clock. Raul jumps back to avoid being splashed by a car driving through a puddle. The night is clear, but not a star can be seen over all of the light pollution the area gives off. Neon signs hang above shops. Street lights and traffic lights line the streets. Lights blare out of large shop windows. Large lit billboards and screens with advertisements hang on the sides of buildings.

Adrien sighs, his legs hurt, but before he can rest them, Raul grabs him again and pulls him further south of town. Just as they begin to leave the city lights behind them, moving down a dark quiet road leading out of town, a group of mixed monsters jumps out of the shadows and surrounds them. Lycanthropes, vampires, and one skinwalker, all grinning, baring their teeth.

Raul gasps. Adrien stands still and drops his head, exhaling, what he is expecting to be his last breath. He pulls a cigarette out of the pack in his pocket and lights it. 

"What are you doing?" Raul shouts.  
Adrien shrugs. The monsters begin chuckling, "Pretty confident?" A vampire speaks as the rest of the group chuckles. Adrien takes another pull off of his cigarette before tossing it on the ground and quickly pulling a blade out, cutting Raul to dowse the blade in his blood. Raul gasps, but then grins, his fangs gleaming under the moonlight, when he realizes what his great uncle is doing. Adrien then stabs both vampires and drags the blade down to bleed them while they lay incapacitated. The werewolves jump to attack but Raul jumps in, dual weilding two silver blades and stabs both in one thrust. Pulling his blades out he nods to Adrien, "Nice work, old man," he scoffs.  
"I've read my material, little chicken." 

Little chicken. He hasn't been called that since he was a child. That was his nickname given to him by his uncle Sal. He looked at Adrien and smiled. He felt warm, as if he was young and alive again. With one final sweep, he decapitates the opened vampires. Raul walks slowly to accommodate his uncle's pace as they made their way home.


	9. Chapter 9

Lucian looks up at himself in the bathroom mirror to see his red, wet tired eyes looking back. He notices his color has faded and the grey hair that has begun replacing the black hair. He sighs. It's been two days since he touched any alcohol, and his head has become clear. He grabs for the towel to dry his face off, but his tears begin to flow again. He comes out of the bathroom that once belonged to Sal and gazes over the room. Everything was in the exact same place he left it before he moved out. Lucian then walks down the hall to Saul's room, which hasn't been touched since he left. He inhaled deep and could still catch the faint hint of Saul's cologne in the room.  
"What the fuck am I doing?" He whispers to himself. "My wife is gone, my son's are gone, my grandson is gone. All I have left are vague memories of what my life was like. I drank most of them away, but I couldn't drink the pain away. And Evie... My son's wife... Am I really that much of a scumbag. I never would have done something like this...."

He hears the performance exhaust of a sports car coming up the street outside. It stops in front of the house and the car shuts off. He then hears the front door open downstairs. The sound jogs his memory of Saul's coming home in his sporty Toyota, that he looks out of Saul's window facing the front of the house, expecting to see the black Toyota parked in front of the house again. He drops the curtains and glances at the empty house across the street before turning away from the window, " Heh, it's just the neighbor's kid," he mumbles.  
He is shocked to find Raul standing in front of him when he turns around.  
"Waiting for someone?" Raul scoffs.  
"Raul? How long have you been there?"

"I just got here. Why are you in this room? I know this is your house, but this room is off limits," Raul says calmly.  
"Still protecting the father you hate?" Lucian chuckles.  
"No... I'm preserving the memory of the father I loved..."  
Lucian's smile disappears and his eyes widen. He pulls his grandson to him.  
"I know I don't tell you enough... Or at all, but I love you Raul, and I'm proud of you. Your father was proud of you too. He loved you so much he was afraid if he got too close to you, he'd hurt you... Guess he was right," Lucian begins sobbing again.

"Lucian, pull it together... My father still walks this Earth."

"It's not the same Raul... I just want to retreat to my memories, I want to die. I've lost everything. My wife, my sons, you, my brother, my dignity and self respect. Kill me Raul..."  
"No Lucian. Don't say that. You haven't lost me or Adrien yet. And you have Evie now too," Raul tried to comfort his grandfather.

"I am old enough to be her father for fuck's sake, and she's carrying my baby. She was married to my son. What kind of scumbag am I to rebound my dead son's wife?"  
Raul nods and rolls his eyes, almost agreeing with Lucian's words, but then shakes his head.  
"What's done is done, pop. We have to keep looking ahead or we'll fall into the cracks and be lost forever," Raul puts a hand on Lucian's shoulder.

"You've been hanging around my brother too much. He always used to say that. Where is he?" Lucian asks.  
"He just dropped me off here, he was heading back to Nate's on foot, and it's been a rough night so he might be a bit late arriving." 

"You ran him ragged, huh?" Lucian chuckles.  
"Of course..." Raul smiles, flashing his fangs to his grandfather. 

Lucian's smile fades and he averts his eyes to the ground.  
"What is it, pop?" 

"You're one of them..." Lucian's voice breaks, "It's all true. I don't want to believe it but it's right here in my face."

"I am NOT one of them..." Raul cringes as he speaks the words, thinking of the Vampires he and Adrien killed last night.

He walks down the hall to his room and slams the door. Staring at his reflection in the mirror, he becomes disgusted, but before he can turn away he sees Jayla in the reflection with him. Her belly begins to grow and she pulls her hand out from behind Raul, holding a hunting knife, then begins stabbing at her round belly. Raul jumps to stop her, to make the image disappear. The image of Jayla disappears and a location of a clinic in town appears.  
"She's... No..."  
Tired. Raul wants to sleep, but he can't ignore what he just saw. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and calls Jayla, then lays on the bed. She doesn't answer her phone.  
"Jay, I don't deserve to hear your voice, I get it... But please let me know if you are ok. I love you..."

Unsatisfied with just leaving a message, he jumps up and leaves, heading in the direction of Jayla's house. 

Mrs. Michaels answers the door and closes it again. Raul bands on the door, "Mama! Mama, please let me in..." He begins to sob. She opens the door again.  
"Mama, what did I do?"

She comes out on the porch and takes Raul into her arms, "I'm sorry baby. You were like a son to me, but you hurt my baby girl, and I can't have that."

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone... I," he is cut off by Mrs. Michaels slapping him on the back, " Raul, you got my baby pregnant, then you disappeared on her."

"Mama... She left me." 

Mrs. Michaels scoffs then yells for her daughter. 

Jayla comes to the door, "What is he doing here?" She spits the question like a snake spitting venom.  
The tears still wet on his cheeks and his eyes red and pooling, "Jay, what the hell, baby?"

Still holding a cold demeanor, she folds her arms and looks away from him. 

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because, why know about someone you're never going to meet..." She says, still turned away from him.

"Jay, please don't do this. I mean, it's ultimately up to you, but..." His throat begins to close as he speaks and he choks on the tears that come forward again. "Do what you want, Jayla. Thanks for the good times we did have together. I hope you know I'll always care for you and would have adored having a family with you, my queen."  
He turns and walks away. 

"What is your problem Jayla? That boy poured his heart out to you and you just stiffened up," Mrs. Michaels guides her daughter back into the house. 

Nate's isn't too far, Adrien is there. Raul continues to walk.

Adrien answers the door, "What do you want? Hopefully not to drag me out again," he chuckles.  
Raul steps inside. 

"What's wrong dude... Can vampires really cry? Is it the sun that's hurting you?" 

Raul sucks his teeth, "No... It's Jayla. She's pregnant, she says it's mine, but she hates me and she's going to abort it."

"Raul... I'm sorry." Nate comes down the stairs, a towel wrapped around his waste after his shower.

"Oh... Did you guys just... Did I come at a bad time?" Raul tries to lighten the mood, but Nate rolls his eyes.

"No, your uncle doesn't want to have sex with me remember," Nate snidely remarks.

Adrien scoffs at Nate, then turns his attention back to Raul, "Come on in and relax," Adrien leads him to the living room and hands him the remote. 

Raul begins watching a cartoon station and falls asleep on the couch watching the television.

"Adje, did you see my sweater?" Nate calls as he comes down the stairs again. 

"Shh, Raul fell asleep." Adrien puts his finger to his mouth and whispers loudly.

"Do vampires sleep?" Nate cocks and eybrow. 

"Apparently..." Adrien responds, "We going to talk?"

"About what, Adrien? About how you collapsed on my porch full of blood and scared the shit out of me? About Jason and my marriage to him? About how you want to hate fuck me like some little groupie whore." Nate feels his heart sink.

"Oh my God..." Adrien moans and rolls his eyes, "No... About anything, about your night, about how you're feeling, about any plans you have coming up, whether I'm included in those plans... Or not," Adrien swallows hard. 

"I've really got nothing to say to you Adrien Martinez. What do you want to hear? I plan on meeting some of my co-workers this weekend at the bar. I'm going to a show this weekend too. I'm feeling confused. Jason has been talking to me. I spent three hours on the phone with him last night trying to work things out," he mimics quotes with his fingers.  
"That's great, Nate. It's good you are getting out, and I'm glad that you and Jason are talking it out. Nate, I don't want a relationship with you, I understand that you aren't ready for that. We are in our forties, and life isn't that long. Relationships are probably pointless now, we should just be grateful to be surrounded by the loved ones we have left. I just want to be your friend," Adrien swallows hard again and focuses the conversation on Raul.  
"Raul and I have had some experiences. He's a good kid. It's a shame what he's living, but all I can do is support him, like no one else has after Sal died."  
Nate nods but is silent, fighting back his tears and irritation. Adrien moves to open the door to the basement. 

" Adje." Nate calls him before Adrien can open the door.

"What? If you want to know what I'm doing I'm going to bed. I'm exhausted. You told me you have nothing to say to me, even though we always have awesome conversations," Adrien finishes his sentence in a sarcastic mumble, that is audible to Nate. 

"We do have awesome conversations, usually," Nate chuckles his agreement. "Adje, I, uh, didn't work anything out with Jason. I did speak to him for three hours but I told him how I felt, how I truly felt." 

"How do you truly feel? If it is OK that I ask that... as a friend," Adrien hopes Nate will not take offense to his question. 

"I'm in love with you Adrien, I have been this whole time, but I wasn't sure I believed what I felt. Like you said, we are in our forties, we've been through so much, and I'm scared I'm going to lose you again."

Adrien freezes at the top of the stairs. He turns around to meet Nate's eyes, "You're not just telling me this stuff because you're afraid to hurt my feelings, or just to get in my pants, are you? 

"I'd, um, like for you to come to the bar with me this weekend, and I have an extra ticket for you to join me at the show, if you'd like to." Nate offers.

"I'd like that," Adrien smiles and nods toward the basement, inviting Nate to join him.

Nate perks up, remembering the ring that Adrien tossed in the bush. He grabs the ring case off the top counter, above the sink, where he hid it behind his spice jars, and hands it to Adrien, "Ask me again... If you still feel the same way, Adje."

Adrien smiles and takes the ring, "You sure you can put up with me for the rest of your life?"

"Shut up and ask," Nate playfully punches Adrien's arm. 

Adrien drops to one knee, painfully, and takes Nate's hand, "Nathaniel O'Halloran... or did you change it to Hernandez?"

Nate shakes his head, "No, it's still O'Halloran."

Adrien continues, clearing his throat before starting again, "Nathaniel O'Halloran, will you marry me? Can you promise to love me, to spend the rest of your life with a chump like me?" 

Nate laughs, "Shut up and kiss me," He pulls Adrien to him and kisses him softly before answering, "Yes. I will love you," he kisses Adrien's lips again, "honor you," he says, meeting Adrien's lips yet again, "through thick and thin," Nate licks at Adrien's lips, "Until..." he kisses him again, "Death," another kiss, "Do us," leaning in to kiss Adrien, Nate whispers, "Part," and begins to passionately kiss his partner, his tongue playing with Adrien's and sparking arousal. 

***

"This right here, Drew," Jayse directs his brother to the toy he wants Drew to play with, but Drew only raises his brow at it and walks off. He chooses a book from the bookshelf and begins to read.  
Jayse folds his arms and kicks the toy car he tried to get his brother to play with him with, "Books are stupid... you're stupid," he mutters.  
Jayse puts his shoes on and opens the back door to the yard.

"Oh no you don't," Saul picks Jayse up and closes the door. 

"Why daddy? I want to play," the boy tries to break free.

"Uh-Uh, did you eat your vegetables? Did you wash up? Did you ask your brother if he wanted to play?" Saul asks the routine.

"Vegetables are stupid... Washing to go play in the dirt is stupid... Drew is STUPID!" Jayse replies.

"What happened?" Saul takes Jayse to the sink to wipe his mouth and wash his hands. 

"I wanted Drew to play with me, I even gave him my favorite race car toy, but he don't wanna play, he wants to read," he explains to his father. 

"There is nothing wrong with that, maybe he is tired," Saul suggests.

"I think someone else is tired," Calaen mutters as he makes his way from the dining room to the kitchen with the children's plates.  
Saul chuckles and nods his head.

"How about you read, Jayse?" Saul hands his son "The Butterfly Effect" book.  
"I read this..." Jayse hands the book back to his father, "Give me 'Gone with the Wind', I'll read that."  
Jayse climbs in the bed with Jayse and snuggles up to him. He opens the books and begins trying to read and understand the words on the pages in front of him.  
"I'm sorry Drew."

Drew looks up from his book on ancient Philosophy and sighs. He kisses his brothers head then returns his attention to his book. After finishing a few pages, he looks up to see Jayse has passed out next to him. He smiles, closes his book and pushes it aside, then cuddles next to his brother.

Calaen approaches Saul, "Are you ready?"  
Saul nods and gets up to walk to Calaen. Stopping directly in front of him, he puts his hands on Calaen's shoulders and closes his eyes.  
"Enter my mind," Calaen requests, his thick accented words rolling off of his tongue in a way that arouses Saul. 

Saul finds himself in a desolate alleyway in old world Europe. It is dark. Abandoned shops with broken windows line the alley. He walks into a shop to find a dead, decomposing body, and the smell sickens him. The shelves are worn and broken. Boxes, cointers, and other items are broken and strewn aboit as if the place was pillaged. Outside, he hears lights tapping from a horse's hooves on the street. A box lay unscathed in the farthest corner of the shop. He makes his way to it, but observes that it is locked. The lock does not contain a key lock mechanism, nor a combination. Instead, the lock has a small, spring action button that contains a loaded needle, and a siphoning capillary tube just under it.  
"It wants blood..." Saul mumbles to himself. On the lock is an inscription, written in ancient Etruscan, "Akk dei clemar."

Saul opens his eyes to meet Calaen's, "What is in the chest?"  
"I don't know, but it's ours," Calaen responds referring to his own family and blood.  
Saul kisses Calaen's lips and a memory of playing music with his uncle surfaces. "I want to know something..." He begins, unsure how to ask his lover about their relationship. "Why me?" 

Calaen furrows his brow, "What? Not this again... Why didn't I let you die? Why didn't I drain you then, why did I turn you?"

Saul smirks, "No. Why turn me? Why not Adrien? Why did you ditch him ten years later?"

"Maybe it was fate. Your uncle, I didn't turn him because well he didn't want to be turned, first of all, and honestly, I could not see myself being with him for an eternity. I cared for him, but I just don't think I can spend eternity with him." Saul nods and looks passed Calaen as if in thought. 

"The boys are very young and already reading large books. Not to mentions Drew's stellar musical talent. He's taken quite well to the violin," Calaen changes the subject.

"Hmm, change the subject on me, yeah? Yes the boys are so quick witted and talented. What's wrong with you? Am I not who you want to spend eternity with either?" Saul's emerald green eyes soften and reflect pain and vulnerability, which Calaen hasn't seen in very long time. It's almost as if he was his precious human Saul. 

"Oh... Saul! No! That's not it at all," Calaen takes Saul in his arms and pulls his eternal lover to him. He begins whispering, "Saul, I turned you because I knew I wanted you for eternity, and no one else."  
Calaen feels his shoulder become wet, "Saul?" 

Saul exhales shakily, and sniffles. Calaen holds him tighter and whispers, "I love you, Saul. Tell me what is bothering you."

Saul picks his head up and wipes the tears from his face, "I love you, Cae, for all of eternity, but I think about my family and I miss them. Raul, my oldest son hates me... I almost killed him and then turned him... I killed Jake." The tears begin to flow again and his stomach turns thinking about the man he had spent twenty years of his life with. "I loved him, Cae, and I killed him... I'm a monster. Adrien, he loved you so much and now God only knows what he's doing, or what Raul has done to him. My father, I can imagine he's alone, and my brother..." Saul feels a stinging in his chest and chokes, "My brother... Cae, my brother is dead. I didn't know my brother is dead..." 

Calaen pulls Saul to him once more, "Let's set things right."

Saul lifts his head, confused by Calaen's suggestion. Calaen pulls himself from Saul and takes Saul's hand, leading him to the basement. He lights the candles surrounding a small alter set up and then lights bundles of herbs that are held in fixtures on the wall, surrounding a mirror. He sits Saul down with him and runs his finger through a well of sparkling water. Calaen pricks his wrist with his fang and spills a drop into the water, "I'll need some from you too," Calaen nudges Saul, who holds out his wrist for Calaen to prick. A few drops collide with the water and Calaen's blood. Calaen then takes the embering herbs off of the wall to sprinkle the ash in the well of liquid, and waves the smoke in front of the mirror. He mumbles a cantation in a language unfamiliar to Saul and the mirror begins to glow. A cloudy mist begins to swirl around in the mirror. The mirror begins to glow bright and a mist begins to form in the foreground. The bright light dims as the mist takes form.  
"Sal?" Saul gasps. 

"Saul..." and echoed voice calls out as Sal's image solidifies.  
Another mist begins to take form next to Sal. 

"Uncle Saul," Brock calls out. 

Saul's tears begin to leak down his face. "Sal, how did this happen?"

Sal shakes his head, "I did this. I lost my son. I failed as a father."

"No you didn't! You are a better father than I am," Saul begins to sob harder. " I miss you. I miss our lives."

"Me too, but you are doing well now, and I've got my son back." Sal smiles at the small figure next to him. Saul smiles too. He notices Sal look behind him. "Jake does not want to talk to you," Sal says when he looks forward again. 

"I do not blame him. Can you tell him I am sorry and that I will always love him and regret what I have done for eternity?" Saul's wipes his eyes.

"He is never going to forgive you Saul." Sal's demeanor changes and he looks behind him again, "We have to go Saul..."

"Uh-oh..." Calaen whispers. Saul gives him a puzzled look. 

A growl is audible from the mirror. A dark image of Jake appears momentarily before the mirror begins to shake and crack.  
"What's happening?" Saul moves back, "Jake?"

"Fuck you!" A growl comes through the mirror. 

"Saul, his soul has gone demon. He's so upset and vengeful for what you have done to him." Calaen begins to call out in the ancient language again and a large shadow figure with wings illumunates clearing the mirror, which now glows white.

"What was that?" Saul gasps.

"That was my great uncle. If Jake has gone demon, that's who will knock him in line and keep him," Calaen answers. 

He begins to mumble another chant and the mirror clears to reveal Lucian talking to Evie. Evie seems to be crying and holding her stomach. 

"Lucian... What is wrong with you? I love you," she pleas.

"No, you think you do because we helped one another through Sal's death. I am the only living relative that Sal has and I think that you latched to that. I went on a foolish drinking binge, ended up taking advantage of you and getting you pregnant. If Saul would have been here you would have clung to him. Evie I'm fifty-eight years old." 

"Lucian, I'm scared. I don't want to abort our baby." Evie grabs Lucian's hand. 

"I'll be there with you if you do. I just want to give you the option to open up your mind and think clearly. If you truly love me then I'll be here for you Evie. I don't want you to feel like I took advantage of you," Lucian pulls her in to hug her.

"What? The old man took Sal's widow and knocked her up?!" Saul says in a gutteral tone. 

Raul joins them in the living room, "Everything ok, pop?" The young man is barely recognizable to Saul at first. His hair is jet black and his eyes glow icy blue. 

"Give us a minute, Raul," Lucian requests sincerely.

"You got it, pop." Raul becomes a blur as he moves quickly away using his vampiric speed.

Caelen scoffs, "Heh, so the little Martinez has learned to use and stregthen his abilities.

"So he has," Saul comments. 

"Just like his father..." Calaen side eyes Saul. 

Saul exhales a sigh, and sucks his teeth. 

Calaen waves his hand and the image changes. Saul is able to recognize Nate's room. He sees some movement under the covers, and then the covers pull down as Adrien mounts Nate. Adrien leans in to kiss his lover, "Will you change your name to Martinez, or are you going to leave it O'Halloran?" Adrien ask as he gently pushes himself into Nate. 

"Ugnnh, Adje, I'm thinking about it," Nate moans. 

"Haha! Holy shit, he's getting some!" Saul chuckles, happy to see his uncle, who was also his best friend. 

Calaen turns away from the image and rolls his eyes. It's been years, but he can still feel a ping of jealousy watching Adrien, his ex-lover, back with the man he was in love with prior to their relationship. Judging by the conversation during sex, it sounds like they're getting married. He waves his hand and the image disappears. 

"Oooh baby, I got hard watching that," Saul seductively pokes at Calaen. "Want to go at it right here?" 

Calaen scoffs, "I'm not really in the mood," he gets up, turns on the light and blows out the candles, and smothers the herb bundles. He walks up the stairs and shuts the door behind him, leaving Saul in the basement, alone. Saul rolls his eyes and sighs, then teleports himself outside, and walks toward down town. 

Calaen changes his clothes and washes his face. Thinking of his jealousy, rude actions, and Saul, his lover to whom he was so cold, alone in the basement, he runs downstairs to see if Saul had come up out of the basement. He doesn't see him. He opens the door to the basement, "Saul, you don't have to stay down there." When a reply does not come, Calaen makes his way down the stairs to find the basement abandoned. Calaen sighs, "Of course, he's gone." The ancient man looks out of the window to the night sky, wondering where his partner has gone.

Saul walks into the pub on the corner of the down town square. He sits on a stool at the corner of the bar, lights a cigarette and orders his drink, a tequila sunrise. He catches the gaze of a young woman with long blonde hair pulled back into a bun on her head, big brown eyes that are laced in pink and being shadow, and wearing a white tank top with a small black leather jacket over it and a tight pair of jeans, a few stools down the bar from him. He pulls an ashtray over and flicks the ashes off the head of the cigarette. The young woman makes her wy over to Saul.  
"You are Saul Martinez, from Bedlam Letters, aren't you?" She recognizes him.

"You listen to that stuff?" He asks with a flirtatious smirk. 

"Yes, you guys are still popular. I heard you were reported missing, where did you go?" 

"I've been here, I was never missing. What's your name?" Saul crushes the cigarette butt in the ashtray. 

"Huh," the girl ponders his response as she moves closer to him. "I'm Ashley. You play billiards?" She asks, seeing the last players on the pool table clearing out. 

"Sure," Saul chuckles. 

They make their way to the pool table, "Rack 'em up, rock star," Ashley demands playfully.  
She breaks on a game of eight-ball. Stripes. The number twelve ball falls into the side pocket. She shoots again, aiming for the number ten ball, but she hits the cue too hard and scratches. Saul get on the table and hits the balls in the pockets in order. Ball one, ball two, ball three, ball four, ball five, he aims for ball six, but the ball does not make it into the pocket he aimed for. 

"Wow, you are really good at this. You must play a lot," Ashley is impressed by Saul's skill, and a bit discouraged that she is getting her ass handed to her on the phone and table. 

Her turn. She aims for the thirteen that is pushed in the corner pocket. Ashley then hits the number fifteen ball, but it taps the wall and rolls to the middle of the table. Saul smiles. The number fifteen ball tapped the number six ball and lined it up with the corner pocket on its way to the center of the table. He pockets the number six ball then takes out number seven and number eight in the same side pocket.

"Well that was the quickest game I have ever played," Ashley admits. Saul grabs he stick from her and pits the sticks back on the rack. She smiles at him flirtatiously. "You want to go somewhere?"

Saul nods and he takes her to the abandoned apartment that has been cleaned up to look like it is in use. He turns on the light. 

"This is where you have been staying?" She asks looking around the cozy little studio. 

"Most of the time. I stay with family too here and there." Ashley sits on the bed next to Saul. 

"It's nice," she compliments the apartment and brings her face close to his. She begins to feel more intoxicated.

He leans in and kisses her, and she begins running her hands up and down his body. He climbs on top of her, never breaking the kiss. She then reaches down to feel his member, stiff in his pants. Remembering how Calaen treated him earlier, he contemplates having sex with Ashley while feeding from her. He helps her take off her jacket and pulls her shirt up. He begins kissing her neck stimulating her body to year for him. He makes his way down to her breasts, licking and nibbling on them as he begins to undo her pants and pull them down. Saul then unfastens his pants and pulls them down, "Are you ok with this?" He asks before proceeding. 

Ashley nods. He moves up to kiss at her neck again, letting his cock rub against her pelvic area. He pricks her neck with his fang, and begins to drink steadily. She moans in ecstasy. Saul puts his hand around his member and fights the urge to thrust it inside of her, just for relief. He begins stroking it slowly allowing some of his precum to spill on her lower abdomen. He pulls his pants back up after feeding from the girl, covers her up, shuts off the light, and makes his way home, with a very uncomfortable hard-on.

Calaen quickly makes his way downtown, an unseen blur quickly moving through the streets, between buildings and cars, and among other people. He sees the light on in the apartment where he had always brought Saul. "This is where he's been going?" 

Calaen makes his way up to the apartment to find that the apartment has been cleaned thoroughly, reorganized, as well as some added furniture, and made up. The old mattress has been replaced by a new mattress on a low setting frame. The bed has been made up with new bed sheets and a comforter. On the bed, tucked under the comforter, play a sleeping woman with long blonde hair. The dresser had been repainted, and a working lamp had been placed on it. An end table had been placed near the bed and a lamp had been put on it as well. The bookshelf had been repainted and reorganized, a laptop computer had been set up on the repainted desk, and the bathroom had been cleaned and remodeled to function.  
"So this is where he's been coming..." Calaen mutters, "And apparently bringing humans to," he adds. 

He pulls the covers down to see the young woman is topless and her pants are undone and and barely pulled up over her hips. He wakes the woman, "What are you?"

The woman awakens, with heavy grogginess, "Huh? Who are you? Where's Saul?" 

"I'm a friend, and I'm not sure where Saul took off to. What are you doing here?" Calaen presses.

"I came here with Saul after we hit it off at the bar," she explains to a very hot headed Calaen. She pushes her hair behind her ear and he can clearly see the bite marks on her lower neck, which calms him a bit, assuming that perhaps Saul just fed from her, but Calaen knows that feeding is very intimate and very sexual for Saul, and it is possible he could have relieved himself in other ways. 

Calaen exits the apartment and quickly makes his way home. He enters the house to see Saul sitting on the couch with a towel wrapped around his waist, "Where have you been?" Saul chuckles. "I thought you went to bed when I didn't see you."

"You showered? Why? Where have you been?" Calaen answers with questions of his own. 

"I just went out for a little bit, stopped at a bar, viewed the downtown area," Saul gives a vague answer. 

"Viewed the city from the old apartment windows with some blonde?" Calaen asks.

Saul sighs, "Ok, I fed. I'm sorry, but I didn't kill her." 

"That's all you did with her? Because she was nearly naked laying in that bed, and your scent is all over her," Calaen folds his arms, "And you've taken a shower... It just seems so suspicious."

"Cae, baby, no. I fed. She was drunk and thought I was going to have sex with her, she did that to herself. I didn't even jerk-off in the shower. I showered because I wanted to refresh, not because I'm hiding something or because I was masterbating, or whatever you think I was doing," Saul opens the towel to reveal his member is still semi-hard, to Calaen, "Cae, I would never cheat on you. I love you and always will for all eternity. You have to trust me. I'll admit, there are times when you treat me wrong, that I have thought about it, but I've never done it."

Calaen sighs, "Saul, I'm sorry. You're right. I do treat you like shit sometimes, I let my jealousy get the best of me. I guess because I know what you were like, having multiple sexual partners, that sometimes I disbelieve you can only have one."

"After Jake and I remarried, and promised we wouldn't do that anymore, I stayed true to him and only him. You were the only exception. We came so close to having sex a number of times, but we didn't always finish," Saul explains. 

Calaen begins to strip his clothing. Saul looks upon his pale and fit figure. His member is fully hard and pitching a tent under the towel. Caelen walks to Saul, unwraps the towel from around his waist to fully expose him, then straddles his lap. The Victorian style man leans in to kiss his lover. He begins rubbing his own stiffened member against Saul's member. Calaen can feel how wet the tips are getting. Saul grabs both his own cock and his partner's cock in his hands and begins stroking them in rhythm to Calaen's grinding. Saul's body becomes tense watching his lover take pleasure in grinding against his body. His breathing becomes slightly quicker, and without a word, Saul erupts, coming all over Calaen's dick. Saul's sudden and spontaneous explosion pushes Calaen to let go, spilling himself all over Saul. He lays down on his partner, falling asleep in his arms.

***

Raul wakes up on Nate's couch. The house is dark and quiet. He gets up and walks upstairs, listening by Nate's bedroom door, but he only hears breathing and slight wearing coming from his uncle. "So fragile..." Raul whispers to himself thinking of his uncle. He grits his teeth, wincing at the hunger pains he feels. He goes into the downstairs bathroom in the corridor off the kitchen and steps into the stand-in shower. 

The shower invigorates him, but the hunger is still strong. He dries off, feverishly rubbing his thick hair with the towel to dry it. Dropping the towel in the hamper by the door, he walks out of the bathroom naked to the laundry room and rummages through the dryer. Adrien's clothes... Ugh, Nate would probably be a better fit as he and Raul are both tall and slender. He tries a tee-shirt, it's a size larger than Raul normally wears, but it'll do. He pulls out a pair of pants and sighs. He'll have to go commando because he refuses to wear another man's underwear, even his uncle's. The jeans are a length size of thirty, a size shorter in length to the thirty-two he is used to wearing, and a size thirty-three, two sizes bigger around the waist than the size thirty-one he normally wears. He takes Adrien's belt off of the counter and puts it on to hold the pants up, then heads out the door. The woods are across town, a short hike for Raul using his vampiric speed. He slows down as he enters the wooded area, trying to walk as quiet as he can. He stops momentarily to urinate next to a tree, then continues. A coyote comes close enough, following his scent. Raul jumps on the animal and twists it's neck until he hears a loud snap. He then thrusts his fangs into the animal's throat. He rips the head off of the animal, "Fuck," he yells throwing the head, "I hate this." 

His phone begins to ring. He pulls it out of the pocket to see it's Jayla, "What?" He answers in a fervent whisper. "Yeah? Ok... Why?... I'm not... I didn't mean... Fine, I don't care!" He hangs up the phone and shoves it back in the pocket. "Why does she call me now... To tell me things I already know and don't want to hear." He leaves the wooded area, destined for Jayla's house, stopping off at a diner to rinse the animal blood off of his mouth and hands, and rinsing his mouth. He looks in the mirror to see nothing staring back. 

Finally arriving at her house, he sits by the gate to her yard and waits for her. She comes out of the back door and meets him by the gate. 

"Why am I here?" He asks in an irritated manor. 

She keeps her distance as she approaches him, "What have you been doing?"

"You called me here, to ask what I've been doing?!" Raul raises his voice.

"Shh. You'll wake them up," she gives him a semi flirtatious smile. 

His presence is comforting and she attempts to move closer to him. 

"What are you doing?" He spits. "What do want from me? You aborted my child, if it was even mine, when did you get pregnant?"

"I got pregnant the first time we had sex, when you were still human... And I haven't aborted your child... Yet..." She folds her arms and turns away from him. "I called you here because I want to talk to you," she says. "I haven't aborted the baby yet because you we're human when I conceived, and I loved you, but at the same time I don't want to raise this baby alone, as a constant reminder of what we had together."

"Jay, I still love you," Raul moves closer to her, "I hope you can understand that I would never do anything to hurt you." 

"Have you been with others since we have been separated?" She asks shyly.

"No, Jay, I can't even think of holding another," Raul lowers his head, and is caught off guard when Jayla runs into his arms. 

"I love you, Raul," she softly whimpers into his chest. 

He holds her tight and exhales his relief, "What do you want to do, Jay? I'm not human, and I hunt things just like me... God that sounds so off, I hunt other monsters... I will support you through everything though, no matter what your decision is."

The more he thought about his life, the more he hoped she'd consider aborting the baby. He wanted so badly to have a family with her. He would have given anything, before his father ruined his life immortally, to be the father of her children, and her husband. He wanted to be the dad his father never was. Now, he looks into her eyes and only sees a heavy sorrow, a life that was taken from him, a family he must avoid to keep them safe.


	10. Chapter 10

Saul awakens with his partner still collapsed on him, "Cae, I'm sorry that I worried you." He kisses Calaen's head and shifts him to adjust himself. His pubic area and inner thighs are sticky, but he rolls over and closes his eyes again.

Hours later he opens his eyes again to Jayse whispering to him, "Dad, we're hungry," Jayse taps on his father's cheek. 

Saul opens his eyes and jumps slightly, trying to pull the covers over he and Calaen as quickly as he can. 

Jayse sighs and leaves the room with Drew.

Saul pulls the covers off, walks toward the bathroom, and quickly washes himself. He comes out with a towel wrapped around him and begins making breakfast for the boys, who are nowhere in sight.

"Jayse! Drew! Your food is ready," Saul calls out in a quiet house, but he receives no response. 

Calaen enters the kitchen sluggishly, rubbing his eyes, "Didn't they say they we're hungry?" Calaen makes his way through the house, checking and practically overturning bedrooms and bathrooms. No sign of them. Calaen's body tenses, but he breathes thinking the boys may have gone outside. He goes outside to the yard, then walks the perimeter of the house. Still no sign of them. Fear creeps up his spine and settles in. He runs back in the house, "Saul, they're gone. I can't find them anywhere."

"They're probably just messing with us," Saul suggests, knowing Jayse's sense of humor at times. Saul then checks chests and trunks, closets and hampers, and finally cabinets and pantries. No sign of the boys. He goes outside and checks the trash cans, the boxes, and the freezer... Just in case. Still no sign of them. "The basement..." He comes back in the house and runs down to the basement. "Jayse! Drew!" He calls out but receives no answer again. Looking behind shelves and in corners, in the different rooms in the basement used for storage. "They're gone," he gasps, a tear escaping his eye.

"They're gone... I can't find them, Cae." He says as he comes to the top of the basement stairs. 

Calaen becomes angry. Though his physical appearance does not change much, his rage seethes through him and dishevels his demeanor. He leaves the house quickly moving through the streets, and looking ahead to get a glimpse of their trail. Nothing but a faint whisper in the direction ahead.

Saul feels fear for the first time since he killed Jake and turned Raul. Understanding Calaen's thoughts that Raul may have taken the kids again he teleports to Lucian's.

"Lucian!" He calls out when he enters the house. 

Lucian runs down the stairs, followed by a very cautious and skeptical Evie, unbelieving her own eyes, and feeling a strong attraction to her late husband's forever young twin brother.

"Saul?" Lucian grabs his son and pulls him into him, "Oh, my boy. Are you ok?"

"Lucian, I need to know where Raul is," Saul holds his father at an arm's length distance and meets his eyes. 

"Raul has been staying with Nate and Adrien, because Adrien and him have been pretty close," Lucian answers. 

Saul pulls him in and hugs his father tight, "Thanks dad. I love you. Thank you for everything you have done for me and Sal throughout our lives. I'm sorry for being the worst son, and the worst brother to Sal."

"Saul, you are not bad. Sal loved you, I love you, and I'm just so glad to see you standing in front of me," Lucian pats Saul's shoulder. 

"See you later Lucian, thanks again. Take care, I wish you and Evie the best in whatever you do." Lucian and Evie watch as Saul becomes a mist before disappearing completely. 

"What the hell?" Evie asks in shock.

Saul appears in Nate's kitchen, "Hey gentlemen."

Nate and Adrien, sitting at the table drinking their coffee, jump and turn to face Saul.

"S...Saul?" Nate stammers, surprised to see his friend who has been missing for years.

Adrien gets up and moves away, taking a defensive stance. 

"Relax, I'm not here to hurt anyone." Saul takes a comfortable stance leaning against the wall, crossing his legs and folding his arms.

Adrien loosens his stance and walks over to hug his nephew. He begins crying on his shoulder, "Saul, it's really you? You're not going to try to kill us?" 

Saul wraps his arms around his uncle, "Adje, I would never intentionally hurt you, you know that," he chuckles. "Where is Raul?" he continues.

"I'm right here," Raul answers as he comes up from the basement.

"Where is Jayse and Drew? They are just little children," Saul unfolds his arms.

"Children? Monster children..." Raul changes his stance, " I don't know where they are? Why would I? I've been here the entire time."

"It's true dude, Pollito has been with us for days," Adrien speaks up. 

"Calaen is out looking for them and he is enraged. My thought was that he would try to find you first, you know, since you've done this before," Saul is surprised that Calaen has not found Nate's home by now.

"And what? You're here to save me? Protect me by warning me," Raul scoffs.

"No, I'm trying to protect him because I know you all too well, and you'll fight him and kill him without thinking twice about it," Saul moves closer to his son.

"So you're here to ask me not to kill your lover? Oh, please. Why should I not? You killed Jake, you didn't seem to care how that affected me, you tried to kill me, but then you made me this... self-hating monster. So, if he gets in my way, or comes at me, I'll kill him, then I'm coming for you... You got it...dad?" Raul's sarcastic demeanor becomes more malicious as he finishes his sentence.

"Fine," Saul disappears.

"What the hell, where did he go?" Nate looks around the kitchen flinching and nervous that Saul will appear in an unexpected place and come at them.

Raul laughs at Nate, "What are you doing? He's gone," he informs him.

Raul runs back down to the basement and gathers his hunting gear. Adrien runs down after him, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to find those kids. They're good kids, even if they are monsters." Raul runs up the stairs and out the front door, "Be right back, guys."

Adrien comes to the top of the stairs, "Go with him, he'll need you, babe," Nate instructs him.

"Raul, wait!" Adrien runs out the door but Raul is gone. He picks up the phone to call Raul. No answer.

***

Raul listens to the sounds on the breeze coming from all direction. He opens his mind and scans the city, hoping Jayse will pick up on his mental telepathy, as he has done before. He gets nothing, but continues moving in the direction in which he hears the most sounds.

"Damn it, Raul," Adrien moans. He leaves, making his way toward the downtown area, "Sorry, Nate. We'll have to take a rain-check," he whispers to himself.

Raul pushes his way through a crowded downtown area, "What the hell is going on? It's a Wednesday. Why is this place so crowded?" People crowd in the street and around the clock tower. He sees what looks like Jayse disappear further into the crowd, being dragged by someone he cannot see.

Adrien finally reaches the downtown area. Businesses are slow and not a soul can be seen on the streets, save one, the ice cream shop owner, walking to his car. "Where is that cat?" Adrien walks a little further toward the clock tower, but does not see Raul, or anyone. He begins opening shop doors and walking in to glimpse Raul or the children. No one in the bookshop, and the ice cream shop is closed. Adrien glances in the window, but sees no one. He catches a glimpse of a crowd behind him in the window, but it disappears quickly. "I have got to stop this hunting shit and finally sleep," he argues with himself.

A faint voice rings his name, "Adrien..." The whisper of a voice seems to be coming from the municipal court building.

He walks past the municipal court building, the clock tower building, glancing at the large fountain in front of it. He sees the crowd again, but this time he sees Raul pass the fountain and look back at him. Raul puts his right hand to the water, as if reaching for Adrien on the other side, prompting Adrien to do the same. Adrien looks on puzzled as Raul's face contorts with pain. He sees a large black figure envelop the crowd and he quickly pulls his hand back as the water becomes a black viscous, boiling liquid.

He looks at his hand for the sludge, only to find his hand was slightly wet with normal water. He glances back into the fountain to see the image has gone and the water is clear. He enters the municipal court building. 

Raul yells at the reflection of Adrien he sees in the fountain, but Adrien does not respond, "Fuck! Now I'm seeing things." Adrien's expression shows fear and he pulls his hand away just before the image disappears. The trolley pulls in. 

"That's odd, I didn't think this thing ran anymore... Must be some festival..." Raul looks through the crowd to see if he can spot the boys, but he does not. He hops on the trolley under the suspicions of a few cloaked figures carrying, what can only be described as bundled children. The trolley takes off with great speed that Raul only notices when he sees some of the other passengers fight to hold on, or fall off and disappearing into the blur. It is then that Raul takes a good look at the crowd surrounding him and notices some differences. Most of them look human enough, but others do not. A gentlemen with leathery black skin and horns growing out of his contorted head sits in the seat behind him, grabs the paper and lights a cigarette, and the cloaked figures have hardly any substance to them. 

"Excuse me?" Raul gets the attention of the demon behind him. The human sized demon looks up from his paper and flicks his cigarette. "Where is this trolley going?" 

"Hell," the demon stretches his neck and looks upon Raul condescendingly. 

Raul scoffs, "Can you tell me where the passengers who fell off go, smart ass?"

"Purgatory, my dear Watson. They go to purgatory... Anything else?" The demon mocks Raul as a Watson to his Sherlock Holmes.

When the trolley stops at a large brimstone and ember gate, Raul notices that the passengers get off and enter separate through separate entrances. He and the demon he conversed with get off together and the demon enters through the main gate that many of the others are entering. Raul follows the cloaked figures to the right side of the gate that leads down into a chamber of some sort. A cloaked figure stops him, holding its misty like arm up in front of the young man.

"I'm new and I don't know where to enter," Raul chuckles.

The figure notices his dark form and directs him to the left side of the gate where other creatures such as Raul may enter. Raul walks over to the left side of the gate, fighting his way through the crowd at the main gate, again. He passes by the demon who conversed with him on the trolley once more. The demon shakes his head, "Great, he's on of them. I'll hear about this one later." There is a guard on the right side and a peculiar lock on the door. The bouncer waves for the being in front of him. The man moves up to the door. "Bloodline?" The bouncer asks.

"Oh, for fuck's sake Jim, really?" The blonde man scoffs at the bouncer, who only raises his brow at the young man. "Lucifer's."

"You may proceed." The bouncer says, letting the young blonde man proceed to the lock where he puts his finger against a small hole on the lock, that leads to a capillary mechanism. The man pulls his finger away quickly, and the lock begins to glow red as a small amount of his blood is verified and drained out of the lock. The lock then disintegrates the remaining droplets in the capillary system, as if it has its own sterilization method. 

The bouncer waves Raul forward, "Bloodline?"

"What? Uh, Saul?" Raul stammers.

"What?" the bouncer questions, "No, princess, angelic bloodline," the bouncer commands.

Calaen steps in front of Raul, "Semi... He's with me Jim." Calaen grabs Raul's hand. 

"Is that Sammy as in Samael, or Semi, as in..." the bouncer begins to ask.

"God damn it Jim, are you that bored... You know who I mean, Semhiazah." Calaen puts his finger to the hole and the lock begins to glow a golden light as it verifies his blood, then flashes to sterilize the lock once more. Jim raises his eyebrow and gives Calaen a puzzled look, "Semhiazah, huh?" "Jim, shut up," he give a stern expression to the man guarding the door, then turns his attention to Raul once more, "Come on, you," Calaen pulls Raul.

"What are you doing here? How did I get here?" Raul begins asking Calaen. 

"I'm here to find my children, I do not know how you got here, you must have gotten through the veil somehow..." Calaen starts to tell him while pulling him through the the underground stone corridors. 

"Wait, what?" Raul stops and pulls his arm back.

"This is, for lack of a better explanation, the other side. Look, I know you are here looking for my children too, I know you want to protect them as much as I do, because no matter how much you want to hate me and your father, you are just like us, and you believe your brothers to be innocent children, I am here to find them. I can really use your tracking skills, and that mental link you have with Jayse."

And there it is... He needs Raul's help. Raul considers whether he can get along with the man for this task, but he pushes his feelings, and his hunter's instinct, aside to save his monster brothers...

The two men enter an open area, and sit in a waiting room of sorts. There is no desk, like in an office, just an open area with recliner chairs and plush sofas. A heavy metal door across from them flies open and the young blond man who was before Raul in line to get into this section of Hell comes out of the room yelling, "That's just fan-fucking-tastic, father. We can't just bend a little bit... Why don't we just change everything!" He walks by Raul and Calaen, "Cuz," he greets Calaen with a malicious smirk, "Why did you bring this tainted human with you?"

"Mind your business Cassius, and carry on," Calaen waves his cousin away. They get up and walk into the room. The door shuts behind them. A tall being walks to the other side of the room where a mini, up-scale bar sits. His big black wings overwhelm the room. He pulls the top off of a glass bottle and pours a dark liquid into a scotch glass. The smell that fills the room verifies it is a potent scotch, as Raul's nostrils burn. 

The man takes a sip, then turns to greet his guests, "Ah, nephew, you remind me so much of your grandfather. How is he by the way? I haven't seen my little brother in ages. Who's your friend?" He runs his hand through his short jet-black hair as he swallows another sip, and his icy blue eyes come to rest on Raul. 

"He is my lover's son. I don't know how , but he has this mental link with one of my sons, and if he is here, it must mean this is where they are," Calaen responds to his uncle who pours them both a drink.

"The twins? They are your kids?" The man asks Calaen, raising his brow in delight. "They are quite a team, I've heard a few talking about them. Azrael is extremely interested in what those kids are capable of," he pours another drink for himself. 

"Azrael does not need to concern himself with my children," Calaen swallows the contents of his glass and sets it on the desk in front of him. 

"Oh, little Cae. Don't worry, we do not want to take your children from you. However something did, or you would not be here looking for them now, would you? " The man walks over to Calaen and puts his hands on Calaen's shoulders, then pulls him in, wrapping his arms and wings around him.

"I will look for them, I'll inform my brothers here and we will find them," Lucifer let's go of his nephew. A cloaked figure enters the room, but this figure isn't like the others at the entrance to the gate. This figure is much larger, and has large black wings similar to Lucifer's. He pulls his hood down to reveal his features are very similar to Lucifer's.

"Uncle Azrael," Calaen nods to greet the being. 

Azrael smiles at him and Raul. 

A vision of a cloaked demon enters Raul's mind and he has the urge to speak, "I rode the trolley on a hunch that those cloaked beings getting on it had bundled children to smuggle them. I thought they might have had my brothers." 

Calaen looks to Raul, shocked that he is comfortable enough to approach his uncle Azrael and speak. 

Azrael nods then looks to Lucifer, "They're on the other side," he turns his attention to Calaen and Raul once more, "Come on, I'll take you over."

They follow Azrael down the corridor, "I have reapers and demons on that side. We run the Well, tasks pertaining to death, disease, and other maladies. We also take care of life expectancy and birth. The demons have tasks..."

Azrael continues to talk, but Raul pulls Calaen closer to him and whispers, "What is the Well? What is he talking about?"

Calaen chuckles a bit, "The Soul Well, for the souls they reap. He is talking about what they do on that side. Technically, we don't go to that side, unless it is important," Calaen explains. 

Raul nods, and both men bump into Azrael. Azrael glances back, then smirks, "You're getting a little personal there, aren't you? Or you just weren't paying attention... I could send you over to your father, Calaen."

Calaen shakes his head, "Is he still over here?"

"Yes, he is the general assigned to my side of this God-Forsaken realm," Azrael sighs. 

"Where is my grandfather," Calaen asks.

"My little brother. He is on Lucifer's side, though they rarely talk or see one another anymore," Azrael answers, then stops in front of an entrance leading into a dark room with a blue glow. Incorporeal cloaked beings tending to a large structure, similar to a large glowing, gentle flowing fountain, that reaches the very high ceiling, yet continues into the depths below. A cloaked figure disappears inside the structure, and another comes out. 

Azrael sees Raul's admiration of the room, "This is the well, where we have access to every soul and its fate." All three of them scan the room. Raul tries to connect with Jayse mentally, but cannot. 

"Some of our reapers and demons go rogue occasionally. It is possible one of them observed or overheard the boys' powers," Azrael tells his nephew, "We will find them."

He leads them through a corridor, much like a cell block in a prison, with individual cells, infused with and locked with magic warding. The end of the corridor opens up to a military training base, and a battle arena, where punishable demons are pitted against one another for military selection. A barracks stands just beyond the arena. 

They enter the barracks, walking the curved corridor until it leads them to the center, where a tall being with bright red hair, glowing golden eyes, and large black leathery wings stands. He rolls his eyes and emits a guttural growl upon their entrance, then sends the incubus he was conversing with away.

"Did I interrupt something?" Azrael makes his way to the other side of the large circular room made of stone and iron, to shorten the distance between him and the territorial being. 

The being sighs and sits on the stone platform that, seems to serve as a planning or negotiating table, next to Azrael, "You have a knack for that, Uncle Az."

"I do my best. We have guests don't be rude," Azrael points to Calaen and Raul.

"Mocte Ntok," the being spits back at Azrael. 

"Oh, come now, don't be so rude. Don't you want to see your son?" Azrael's mocking is not taken lightly, but the being holds his composure.

"M'Mon... Cohin mayaa," he murmurs his response.

"No. That's what your little friend was here for, wasn't it..." Azrael quickly snaps back, "Don't you want to greet your son, Azazael?"

Azazael grits his teeth, forcing a half-hearted smile before turning to face Calaen and Raul, "Good evening, Calaen. It's good to see you are well. Carry on..." Azazael walks away.

Raul stares at Calaen. The thoughts racing through his head leading to one question, 'This is your father?' A being who needs to pretend he is interested in seeing his son, but can barely remember his name, then waives him off as if he is nothing. Calaen holds a stoic expression, as if this is the normal treatment he receives from his father. Raul's thoughts focus on Saul, how he forgot to pick Raul up from school on many occasions, how he was hardly home, but somehow he would do something for Raul that let him know that he was his father and he loved him. Raul's eyes begin to water and he sniffles hard. Calaen looks at him and shakes his head to warn him not to get caught crying. Raul nods and wipes his eyes, then asks, "Is this how he was treated by his father?"

Calaen leans over to whisper to Raul, "No, his father loved him, spent every minute with him... they all did." Both men relax when Azrael and Azazael walk out of the barracks to continue their conversation.

"Was Lily really your sister?" Raul asks, remembering a stark difference between Lily and Calaen.

"Yes, she was my half sister. My mother is a witch, my father... well, you've met him. Lily's father was human, and a good man he was. My mother already had me when she met Andy La Torre. He took me in, adopted me, he was everything I could have hoped for in a father. My mother became pregnant with Lily, I loved my little sister, but at age eight she became ill. She wasn't expected to get any better. I turned her to save her, for my parents' sake, and my own. But thanks to you, she's gone now..." Calaen pats his eyes with his handkerchief. 

"I'm really sorry. She tried to kill me, and my uncle Adrien," Raul defends. 

Calaen nods, "I understand. Anyway, when he died, my mother passed shortly after, and I was left to care for my sister."

"I'm sorry," Raul offers his condolences again, feeling sympathetic toward the being he considered a heartless monster. Suddenly, it hit Raul. The thought he didn't want to acknowledge. He's no heartless monster, he's just like Raul. He has the same urges, the same tendencies, the same family life, a father who doesn't even acknowledge his existence. If anything, he has it worse than Raul, it seems that even his uncles mock him.


	11. Chapter 11

A knock at the door startles Lucian as he cleans his living room. He turns off his phone playing music, and answers the door. Adrien enters and quickly shuts the door behind him. 

"Lucian, where is Raul? Have you seen him?" Adrien appears frenzied. 

"No, I haven't seen him since yesterday. Saul came by today," Lucian begins breathing heavy, tears come to his eyes. 

Adrien hugs his brother, "I know. He came by Nate's also to find Raul. Raul left when Saul told us his young sons are missing. I can only assume he want to find them," Adrien pauses for a minute, then commences to tell Lucian about the experience he had in the downtown area. "Lucian, I tried to go after Raul, but when I got downtown, it was completely empty. You know he can travel at a much faster speed than I can, so there really is no telling where he ended up, but when I looked in the fountain by the old court building I saw him. In the reflection. Then some big, black demon came up behind him and the water turned to this black sludge, but it turned clear again. I thought it might have been because I am tired after hunting with Raul often, but I honestly don't know."

Evie joins them in the living room, "Adrien, would you like a drink?"

"No, I, uh, actually have to go... find Raul," Adrien couldn't have been or felt more awkward. He tries to be supportive of his older brother, but the truth is he is very uncomfortable with Evie dating Lucian, or worse, carrying his child. He doesn't know how to tell Lucian his disgust with him, so he leaves it alone. 

Lucian, sees his brother's dislike, "I'll walk you out," he offers. 

They step out onto the front porch, "Dude, what's up with you? You've been acting funny lately, especially when it comes to Evie. You won't even look at her. She thinks you hate her," Lucian converses with his younger brother.

"I don't hate her, I just hate the fact that she is with you. I'm sorry bro, I just can't accept this. She was Sal's wife. I get it, he died, but you are his fucking father. I mean, come on dude, she's now been with every man in your family, except me and Raul," Adrien points out.

"No, just Sal, and me," Lucian corrects his brother.

"And Saul before she met Sal. She was obsessed with Saul. In my opinion, the reason she got with Sal is because in her mind he was the next best thing to Saul, since she couldn't have him. I love Sal, but I think that had a lot to do with it," Adrien informs his brother quietly.

"I really do need to find Raul though, bro," Adrien hugs his brother once more and leaves the porch in search of his great nephew.

Lucian watches him as he walks away then opens the door and enters the house.

"Everything ok babe?" Evie smiles playfully, sitting on the couch.

Lucian shakes the uncomfortable feeling creeping through his abdomen and to his stomach, "Yea, I'm fine." Lucian sways as he tries to walk over to the couch to sit down.

"Baby?" Evie gets up to help him.

He pushes her away, "Stop, I'm ok, I just feel sick," Lucian hiccups, "Get me a bucket!" 

Evie runs to the kitchen to retrieve the bucket in the cabinet under the counter that she uses to clean. She runs it in to him, already heaving. As soon as she sticks the bucket under him, vomit splashes at the bottom. She moves away quickly. She stares at him as he continues to vomit in the bucket. How did she end up here. He's an elderly man, her deceased husband's father. If she had never met Saul, if she had never slept with Saul, if she had never fallen in love with Saul, she wouldn't be here now, with a dead son, a dead husband, and pregnant by her father-in-law. She overheard Adrien's conversation with Lucian, standing by the window that was cracked open ever so slightly, at least enough for her to hear most of their conversation. With nowhere to go, she's stuck with Lucian. Sal's gone, her parents are gone, the animal hospital has closed down after Sal's death. For the first time, she feels alone. She puts her hand on her belly bump and begins to rub it. 'No. Adrien is wrong. I do love Lucian. And I do love Sal. I may have met them through Saul, but Sal and Lucian are good men. I do love them,' she thinks to herself, 'Saul was a good man too,' her thoughts wander, 'It was so much easier when he was a womanizer. Things are so complicated now... I still love him too.' 

Lucian sets the bucket on the floor and lays down on the couch. Evie pulls a blanket out of the closet and covers him. 

Adrien reaches Nate's house. He opens the door to find Nate cooking. The smells of cilantro and cayenne pepper fill the downstairs. He wraps his arms around Nate, "Hey, baby." 

Nate kisses Adrien's lips and continues moving from the stove to the counter to prepare the food. 

"Hey, hey, come on," Adrien pulls the cook back to kiss him again, "Do you need any help?"

"No, it's done. Will Raul be joining us? Does he eat?" Nate ponders.

"I think he'll be fine," Adrien nods slightly with a joking expression.

Nate finishes pulling the plates out of the cabinet, "I'm going to go to the bathroom and clean up first."

He grabs a clean towel and clean, comfortable clothes and goes into the bathroom down the hall. 

Adrien sits on the couch and turns on the television. He begins relaxing and nearly dozes off when he is awakened by Nate screaming Adrien jumps, nearly falling over when standing and runs up the stairs, "Nate," he yells but Nate doesn't answer only another scream comes. "Nathaniel!"

Adrien opens the bathroom door to find Nate sitting behind the door, huddled in on himself and shaking. He pulls Nate up, "Baby, what happened?" Adrien pulls Nate to him. Nate looks to be in shock and still shaking. Adrien feels something wet soaking his pevic area and running down his leg. He looks down to see Nate had begun urinating unknowingly. He takes his clothes off, starts the bath water and guides Nate into the bath with him.

Adrien reaches around Nate to turn off the water, then cradles his lover, caressing his back and neck with the warm, wet bath sponge, "It's ok baby. I've got you. Tell me what happened..."

Nate doesn't speak, he just stares at the water. Adrien lathers the sponge with soap and begins washing Nate and himself. He begins chanting an incantation in a sing-song tone, "Salis ex mare protego hanc domum. Purgo illud, et prohibeo malum Distineo domum, a malo Permitto solum quod positive et sanctus ineo Audite mea vota. Sic erit!" 

Nate reaches back to grab Adrien's hand, "When I was washing in the sink, the water turned to this thick black, the only way I can describe it is, old unchanged and reused motor grease. Then when I looked up, into the mirror, this monster like creature stunned me. It came out of the mirror and into me, it told me it was going to use me to kill, then kill me and eat my soul..." Nate lifts his head and looks out onto the bathroom floor, "Is that piss?"

"Yeah, you were shaking so hard you pissed all over me," Adrien chuckles. 

"I'm... Really sorry, Adje." Nate lowers his head.

"It's ok. I'm more concerned about your safety." Adrien's phone in his pants pocket, on the floor, begins ringing. He moves Nate so he can get out of the bath and retrieve his phone from the piss soaked jeans, "Adrien speaking... Uh huh. What?! Evie, slow down. Ok, I'm on my way."

He puts the phone down on the back of the toilet and grabs two towels out of the closet for Nate and himself. 

"What happened?" Nate asks.

"My brother is in the hospital. He became violently ill after I left him, but he seemed fine..." Adrien pauses seeing Nate turn pale, blood coming from his nose, ears, and eyes, before he falls unconscious. "Nathaniel!" 

Adrien picks his lover up, with strength he didn't believe he had, and carries him out to the car, with only a towel wrapped around his waist. As carefully as he can he lays Nate down in the backseat, closes the door and gets into the driver's seat, then drives off, heading to the hospital. 

He pulls up to the emergency entrance, lifts Nate out of the backseat and carries him into the emergency room. As he approaches the reception desk the receptionist calls for available patient care technicans to bring a gurney, blankets, and gowns. "Sir we will take it from here," a patient care tech hands Adrien a gown and blanket after Nate is secure on the gurney. 

Adrien feels so hopeless, watching his lover being pulled to the back, nearly lifeless, "Can I go back there with him?"

"No, it's best you let us take care of him and get him stable first," the triage nurse answers. 

"My bother, Lucian Martinez, is here with his fiancee. Can I see him?" Adrien's lip starts to quiver. 

The nurse turns to her computer and types in the name Lucian Martinez, "Yes he is here, but he is unstable as well, and it looks like his fiancee was just admitted as well, she became ill and went into labor at only six months into her pregnancy. We are trying to save her and the baby. You will have to just sit here in the waiting room." 

What is going on? Raul is gone. Lucian, Evie, and Nate have all fallen sick. Adrien tries to think of the events that have unfolded before him today. The image of the experience he had at the fountain keeps coming to mind. The demon he saw in the reflection, mocking him. It must mean something.

A nurse in dark blue scrubs approaches him, but he does not notice, lost in his thoughts, "Adrien Martinez?" The nurse clicks her pen repeatedly out of habit, like people snapping their gum, or twirling their hair. Her long black hair pulled back in a ponytail. She fixes the scrubs squeezing her curves. "Adrien?" She taps him.

Adrien jumps, "Huh?" 

She smiles, "Your brother is stable, you can see him now if you'd like."

Adrien nods. The nurse clears her throat. He looks up to see her blushing, and her pen pointing toward his groin before she walks away. He looks down and realizes that he had forgotten he was in a hospital gown that twisted and bunched up, exposing him. He quickly pulls it down and follows the nurse to the back. She leads him to Lucian's room. 

"Lucian," Adrien calls.

Lucian turns his head slowly to meet his little brother. An oxygen mask, tubes, wires, and intravenous lines obstruct his movement slightly. A basin sets next to him on the bed, "Adje," he whispers.

"What happened to you?" Adrien can't help but to cry, seeing his older brother, his caregiver, in such bad shape.

"I don't know. They are running tests," Lucian gives a weak smile.

Adrien gets up, "I'll be right back." He walks out of the room and up to the nurses station. A large blonde nurse behind the desk looks up at him. "Can you tell me where Evie Martinez is?" 

The nurse snaps her gum and types on her computer, "She was rushed to the operating room, she hasn't come out yet."

"How about Nathaniel O'Halloran?" Adrien asks nervously.

She types on her computer again, "He's in imaging."

Adrien walks back into his brother's room and enters the bathroom. He turns the sink on and splashes water on his face. Looking up in the mirror to question himself, he does not recognize his reflection. It contorts and becomes the demon he saw in the fountain. He hears a laugh. "What do you want?!" Adrien shouts. 

"You," a growl sounds. The image shifts and Adrien watches himself become the demon, then it disappears and Adrien can see himself in the mirror again. 

He punches the wall, "Leave my family alone." He says firm, but quiet. "Where is Raul..." Adrien moans.

In Lucian's room, the machines start ringing and alarming. Adrien opens the bathroom door but cannot exit while nurses and techs run in with a crash cart. 

"Take him out to the waiting area," a tall male nurse instructs a patient care technician to remove Adrien from the room. Adrien stares fearfully as the medical team try to revive his brother. 

"Come on, we have to get you out of the room while they help him," the young, fairly well built man tells Adrien. 

Adrien begins to leave with the patient care technician, turning around once more to look at his brother. He sees a mist-like, cloaked figure hovering over his brother, but the image disappears quickly and he turns around and continues to the waiting room. 

"Adrien Martinez?" The triage nurse calls out to him.

He walks to the desk and she invites him into her tiage makeshift office.

"Your brother's entire system is failing. We are doing everything we can," she looks through the documents on her desk, "Nathaniel O'Halloran is out of imaging but he is bleeding internally and the doctors are draining the fluid from his cavity now. He may need a blood transfusion, if he survives."

Adrien begins having heart palpitations, his head feels dizzy, his breathing in labored, but it is only from stress. The tears pool in his eyes. 

"Good news for you. Evie Martinez and the baby are doing fine. The baby is very premature, and will have to stay in an incubator for the next four months,at least." The nurse says with a smile.

"Can I see her? And the baby?" Adrien asks hopefully.

"Of course. I'll take you there now. She has been moved to the maternity ward to recover." Adrien follows the nurse to the maternity ward on the third floor. 

Evie lies in a bed, with only an intravenous line connected to her. She looks at her giests entering the room, "Adrien, you made it! How's he doing?" She notices the gown he is wearing, "Are you a patient too? What happened?"

Adrien hugs her, "No I'm not a patient. Something happened to Nate in the bathroom and we rushed here with no clothes on. More importantly, are you ok?" Adrien asks.

"I'm better now," she answers with a sigh and a hand on her non existent belly bump. "Our baby could have been better. She is only a pound and has to live here for the next four months. I wish I could've carried her full term."

"I think she will make it, Evie. She's the product of you and my brother. Tough line," he chuckles. "Can you tell me what happened to my brother?" 

"After you left, he came back in stumbling like he was drunk, or dizzy. He said he just didn't feel well and asked for a bucket. As soon as I got the bucket to him, he started throwing up. He did that for about an hour before he passed out and began choking on his own vomit. I had to call an ambulance. The stress of thinking I was going to lose him, and the physical stress of trying to help lift him made me almost lose our baby," she tells Adrien. "You never answered me, how is he doing? Did they find out what is wrong?"

"Evie, I don..." Before Adrien can speak, the emergency nurse with the long ponytail comes into the room. 

"There you are Mr. Martinez, Ms. Martinez," the nurse acknowledges Evie, then turns her attention back to Adrien, "Your brother has passed on. We did what we could for him."

Evie screams, "No! Lucian!" 

Adrien hugs her to calm her, but it's taking everything in him not to go around the hospital picking fights with random people. He leans his head on Evie and cries. "Nurse, please call my nephew, Saul." Adrien uses the pen and small note pad on Evie's end table and jots the number down. 

Evie lifts her head, "What?"

"He's the only family member remaining aside from his son who is missing. Please," Adrien begs. Feeling hopeless, defeated, dead inside, he listens carefully to the nurse making the phone call from the nurse's station across from Evie's room. 

The nurse comes back into the room, "I have called your nephew to inform him of his father's death, he is on his way," the nurse pauses, "I wasn't aware Lucian had any living children. My records show that he had two sons, both deceased."

Saul enters the room and maneuvers around the nurse, "I'm Saul. I was close by when you called," he winks at Adrien and Evie, who know he has the supernatural power to teleport. 

"Can I take you to say your last goodbyes?" The group follow the nurse down to the emergency room. Adrien pushes Evie in a wheelchair. 

Lucian lay in the bed, cleaned and neat, but pale, and growing cold. Saul walks over to his father and kneels at his bedside, "Father," his voice cracks. The rage builds inside of him, but he contains it, releasing it as sorrow and tears. "Lucian, I... Can't thank you enough, for everything..."

Evie is moved to tears by Saul's display of emotions. Adrien stares at his brother, a mix of sorrow, fear, and hatred erupt inside of him. He grabs Saul by the shoulder, "Saul, we need to talk, now."

Saul stands, "You... You've changed." 

"Raul went looking for your children. I followed him to the best of my ability, Saul. I saw him down town in the fountain. He was in a crowd, and I reached in the fountain for him, but the fountain turned to black sludge when some demonic entity appeared. God damn it, Saul. Nate saw it in the bathroom and he's dying, I saw it again in this bathroom a little while ago. I asked it what it wanted and it said it wanted me," Adrien takes a breath. 

"He was down town in a crowd and you saw a demon? As a reflection in the fountain?" Saul questioned, to be clear. Adrien nods. "I can't tell you what that is, Adje. I haven't found Calaen either, and I've been looking for him and the boys." Evie looks at both of them as if they have gone crazy. "I need to see Nate," Saul leaves the room, followed by Adrien. Leaving Evie to stay and mourn the corpse of her recent lover.

They approach the nurse's station, "Excuse me, is Nathaniel O'Halloran available yet?" Adrien asks the small blonde nurse behind the desk. 

She nods and types on her computer, "Let me make a phone call." She picks up her desk phone and dials an extension to call the emergency room nurses station in Nate's hall. "Hey Judy, can you tell me if you have a Nathaniel O'Halloran back in your care... Uh huh, he is, ok. I'll let them know." She hangs up, "He is stable, but he is very weak. He is also receiving a blood transfusion. Please don't interfere with it." 

Saul and Adrien run down to the end of the hall to the other end of the emergency section, leaving Evie to mourn the corpse of her latest lover.

They approach Nate's room. Saul leans over the bed to look on his old friend. Nate opens his eyes, "Saul? Am I dead?" He whispers faintly.

"No dude, I'm really here," Saul puts his hand on his friend's arm and tries to enter his mind to see what happened to him. Saul gasps, seeing the demon in the mirror as Nate had. 

"What is it?" Adrien is confused by his immortal nephew's shock. 

"I need to see what you saw, Adje," Saul guides Adrien to sit in the chair, then straddles him. He uses his hands to lightly caress Adrien's head and letting them come to rest on his shoulders.

"Dude, I know we haven't seen each other in a long time, but I'm pretty sure we're still family, and probably shouldn't fuck," Adrien makes a joke to break the awkward feeling in the room.

"Shut up," Saul snaps while he tries to concentrate. He inhales sharply, and steadies his exhale. 

"Damn it. I have never had Calaen tell me about this, until the other night when we were, well when he was scrying in a mirror to show me how everyone has been. I spoke to Sal on the other side briefly, but before that, I didn't think that was possible," Saul says quietly. He digs deeper in Adrien's mind, "It's you. It wants you, It is part of you," Saul tells Adrien, who remembers the demon growling 'you' when he asked what it wanted. "It's going to take everything from you to get you alone."

"My brother," Adrien breaks down and wraps his arms around Saul, who is still straddling him.

"What is this? Some kinky incest I don't know about?" Nate tries to make the joke.

Saul pushes himself off of his uncle, "You're sick Nate," he chuckles. 

"I'm not dead yet... That's good, right?" Nate dozes off again, his condition, and the blood transfusion, weakening him. 

"I thought you were one of them," Adrien states to Saul.

"I'm a vampire, not a fucking demon. I might be strong, but there are things I haven't seen or done," Saul informs his uncle. "Remember Calaen has been training me to contain myself, and use the powers I know, most of this time. And look what I did, I still fucked up. I killed Jake and tried to kill Raul. What's worse I turned him into a self hating monster."

Adrien rolls his eyes in disgust, "Ugh, I guess we have to find," he hesitates a bit, then spits, "Calaen."

Saul scoffs, "Lets get you home so you can change into something a little more comfortable."

"Ewww," Nate moans from the bed. 

Adrien leans over and kisses Nate's head, "I'll be back baby. Don't leave while I'm gone."

"Where the fuck am I going to go," Nate retorts, pointing out the tubes and wires hooked to him. 

Saul stands outside of the room beckoning Adrien to hurry. Adrien sighs, "Don't die." He kisses his lips and walks quickly out of the room. 


	12. Chapter 12

Raul grabs Calaen's hand and lowers his head.

Puzzled by Raul's actions he asks, "What are you doing?" Calaen is a little offended, thinking Raul is mocking him, and annoyed, as the young man does not answer him immediately, but continues to hold his hand tight. He breathes deep and collects his patience, giving his step-son the benefit of an honest reaction.

"Jayse," Raul whispers. 

Calaen feels relieved and kind of stupid for thinking that Raul means to humiliate him, when he was clearly having a vision or connecting with Jayse mentally. Raul looks into Calaen's eyes and reiterates Calaen's thoughts, "If I wanted to be a dick to you, I would have done that long ago. We said we would set aside our differences to find those kids. You said you needed me, and I kind of need you too." Raul gives a smile. 

Calaen smiles back, "I'm sorry, I doubted you, and underestimated you," Calaen compliments, impressed by the young, untrained vampire's ability to read his mind, then focuses on the primary subject, "What about Jayse?" 

"I heard him call to me, he showed me a dark, small room. It's so dark. There are three figures walking around in the room. Drew is with him. They have Drew. It looks like they are trying to get in his head. Jayse believes they won't because Drew is strong. It's this way," Raul pulls Calaen up, both using their vampiric speed as they exit the barracks. 

Raul leads Calaen down another hall when they re-enter the maze of corridors on this side of Hell. He sniffs the stale stagnant air to see if he can pick up their scents in any specific direction. The scent is there, but without a breeze, it is hard to decipher where the boys are located. That is, until a cloaked being walks by him with the boys scent on it. 

"What are you doing? Are you lost?" Calaen whispers.

"No, I figured it out. All of these creatures that walk by either have the boys' scents on them because they have been handling them, or are pushing the scents from the direction the boys are in, just by walking by. The scent coming off that last one was strong, so it must have been around the boys. It came from that direction," Raul points straight ahead, "Let's go."

A section of the corridor smells really strong of Drew's and Jayse's scents. Two open areas, five rooms, and four closets, occupy the area where the scents are strongest. Raul sits in one of the waiting areas and tries to mentally link with his half brother. He begins to hear a rustling sound. Something rubbing against the floor. Calaen can hear it too, and looks to where the sound is coming from to see a piece of paper slipping in and out from under a door. The two men look at one another with joy and relief, "That's it," they both agree. 

Calaen cloaks Raul as they walk over to the door. Raul is able to enter the small room undetected. He carries a bottle of salted holy water. A concoction made by Calaen to immobilize the beings for a few moments while they escape with the children. The cloak begins to wear off. He gets as close to Jayse as he can, picking him up first, then sipping and spitting the salted holy water onto the beings before grabbing Drew and running for the door. He missed one of the figures. The demon creature removes the hood of his cloak.

Raul freezes, "Jake..." his lips move, but barely a sound escapes. Jayse looks to the being, Jake, and to Raul, panicky. He slaps Raul and Raul runs with the boys out of the door where Calaen waits on the other side.

"What happened in there?" Calaen can see the fright, yet sadness in Raul's eyes. 

"No time to talk, gotta run... Let's go!" Raul hands Drew to Calaen and they run toward the gate. The corridors all look so similar, Raul becomes confused, and can't remember which way they came in.  
Jayse wraps his arms around his older brother and speaks in his ear, "Raul, the barracks is to the left." 

Raul nods to Jayse in thanks, then nods to Calaen to inform him which way to go. The barracks is no longer empty. Azrael has gone, but Calaen's father is in the pit, preoccupied by his incubus friend. Calaen and Raul move quietly, holding Drew and Jayse close to them to shield them from the profoundly pornographic imagery. Calaen feels sickened, seeing his own father in the act of sex, and becomes saddened when he hears how sweet his father's words are to the incubus demon. His father won't even speak a language Calaen understands around him. He listens closer: 

Azazael chuckles flirtatiously, "Nonsense, you're a beautiful man," he says as he runs his tongue across the pretty demon's lips. "I can teach you some grappling techniques if you want."

The incubus bites the ring on his master's lip while reaching for his enlarged member again, "Let me take you in me." Azazael smiles, climbing on top of the demon.

Calaen turns away, disgusted. Finally they emerge into the the corridor that Azrael led them down to the training area, "We're almost there. Keep going," Calaen reassures Raul. A small group of cloaked demons and reapers are blocking their exit, "Shit," Calaen mutters, "How are we going to get by that?"

Raul recognizes the office they visited earlier, and suggests to Calaen to move in there, "Your uncle. He'll have to help us."

"No!" Calaen answers quickly, "I think he may have something to do with it. I don't trust any of them, Raul," Calaen musters up as much energy as he can to teleport the four of them to the front gate.

"Why couldn't you just do that to begin with" Raul puts Jayse down and takes his hand.

Calaen does the same for Drew, then sits down on the ground, "I didn't have the energy, and that took so much out of me. Take the boys to the portal out. I can't make it any further without resting."

Raul walks over to Calaen, picks him up and throws him over his shoulder, "I'm not leaving you here, we're all leaving together." Jayse nods to his older brother. "Jayse hold Drew tight and follow me," Raul takes off, slowing his pace to allow his brothers to keep up. Calaen is unconscious and dead weight on his shoulder, but he keeps his strength up to carry him out.

"The trolley is about to leave!" Jayse shouts to his brother and picks up his own pace, "Come on, Drew!" The boys reach the trolley and wave their arms frantically for Raul to hurry up. Raul feels himself lift over the crowd on the ground, at the gates, and he lands on the trolley.

"What the hell was that? Jayse, did you do that?" Raul looks at Calaen to be sure he is still unconscious, then averts his eyes to see Jayse pointing at Drew.

"You're a slowpoke, Raul," Drew laughs with Jayse. Raul gives a small chuckle and sets Calaen down on the seat, standing in front of him to hold him up. The boys occupy the seat next to him, Drew sitting on Jayse's lap. It is only the four of them on the return ride to the surface. The trolley only leaves when there are souls to collect from the surface. 

The trolley takes off with unbelievable speed toward the surface. Seriously, Raul cannot believe how slow it is moving... floating toward the surface, when it came down with lightening speed, like a bat out of hell, losing passengers to purgatory. He looks at Calaen and slumps in the seat behind him, "Eh, you're not going anywhere," he pats Calaen on the shoulder.

"I thought you said it was going to be fast, Raul," Jayse says. 

"Yeah, are you that old that this is fast to you?" Drew asks.

"OK, first of all, ouch Drew, that's a pretty deep jab. I'm not that old..." he looks to Jayse, who stops laughing when making eye contact with his older brother, "...and second, when I rode this thing down it was a flash of lightening. Now it's like a piece of kelp floating to the surface of a stagnant lake," Raul takes his phone out of his pocket, "Of course... No service," he mocks himself, as if he should have known, and begins playing an offline game of solitaire.

Drew and Jayse lean over the back of the seat to watch him play, "What are you doing?"

"Playing a game," Raul answers, dreading the next question.

"Can I try?" Drew asks. Raul clenches, knowing that when a kid asks what you are doing, they are going to try to get in on it too.

"Sure," he hands the phone to Drew, flustered from the boredom on the rise to the surface, and knowing the kids would eventually ask him for his...

"Done," his thoughts are interrupted by Drew handing his phone back. The screen displaying the cards creating a wave effect as they move about the screen.

Less than thirty seconds. The kid completed a game of solitaire in less than thirty fucking seconds. Raul takes his phone back, still looking at Drew in disbelief.

"What else you got on there?" Jayse and Drew leave their seat to sit by they're older brother and look on his phone. 

"Check this out. In this game you shoot birds at pigs and destroy their structures," Raul chuckles, "Go ahead, give it a try."

Jayse and Drew take turns completing levels on the game. They're good kids, they barely know him, but they love him, and he feels a strong connection to them both, even if his mental link is only with Jayse. 

Finally, the trolley reaches the surface. A crowd of souls surround the trolley and begin pushing their way on, led by the cloaked figures. Raul lifts Calaen over his shoulder, "Jayse grab your brother's hand and let's go." The boys follow him as he pushes his way through the crowd.

"The fountain," Jayse calls out.

"What? I tried that earlier, you can't get out," Raul responds in a moan. 

"Ugh, Raul, why are you so difficult?" Raul stops short and turns to face his little brother.

"You mean why is he so stupid?" Drew questions Jayse, causing Raul irritation.

"That's it Drew, I've had enough of your smart-ass comments. One more, and I'll slap the taste out of your mouth," Raul warns. Drew retorts with a smirk, "Fine, I'm joking with you?"

"Way to get a rise out of someone... And not the kind you're looking for," Raul drops his defense seeing Drew's apologetic expression. "It's ok, Drew. You're really smart, so imagine someone you care about saying those hurtful things to you."

"But you don't care about us... You think we are monsters. You took us away from our parents before. I thought you wanted to hurt us," Drew states firmly.

Jayse calls out, "The light is reflecting off of the fountain! Now! GO! the portal opens northeast, near the woods."

Raul adjusts Calaen on his shoulder and runs with the boys to the portal as it begins to open. A blue and gray vortex that appears to be thick, but feels like the lightest of spider webs caressing their bodies as they jump through. Raul checks Calaen and the boys to assure they are good and comfortable, then continues to walk in the direction of their home. "Drew, That's not true at all. Saul and I haven't had the best experiences together, and he has become worse since he became... the being he is today. I was afraid he was going to hurt you, So I took you away," he explains.

"You knew that Drew," Jayse nudges his brother.

"No, I had mixed feelings about it. With dad saying Raul is a hunter and could do harm to us," Drew is cut off by Jayse.

"He won't hurt you. I know he won't, he cares about us, Drew... And I trust him," Drew becomes quiet and continues walking. 

"I won't hurt you Drew," Raul reiterates. 

"It's Dad," Jayse points out Saul walking up the street toward them.

Raul sighs relief, "Adrien."

"Whoa, what is this?" Saul takes Calaen from Raul, skeptical that Raul had caused him injury, and sets him on the ground.

"Relax. He saved our asses and he's exhausted his energy doing it," Raul hugs Adrien. 

The boys stand near Saul. "They're safe, now take them home and keep a better eye on them," Raul feels awkward speaking to his father, but he doesn't want to give him the silent treatment to make matters worse. 

"Thank you, Raul!" The boys express their gratification, "We love you," Jayse and Drew run over to hug their oldest brother. 

Saul looks on in disbelief, but Raul holds a firm gaze on his father, then turns his attention to the boys, "I love you guys too. Be good. If anything happens, Jayse, you know how to get a hold of me," Jayse smiles and taps his head. Raul chuckles receiving a telepathic message from his brother that says 'Can you hear me, now?' Mocking the commercial for a telephone service.

Calaen opens his eyes, "What? Where am..." He looks up to see Saul and the boys, "Raul?" Standing quickly he nearly falls over, but Saul and Raul rush to steady him. "How did you...?"

Raul smiles genuinely at Calaen, "I carried you. After what you did, I couldn't leave you behind." Calaen reaches out and shakes his hand. 

"You're a good man Raul, and an even better hunter. Thank you for your help," Calaen pulls Raul in for a hug. "Why don't you stay for a while, and visit with your father," he offers.

"I really appreciate the offer but I think I need to go check in with Lucian, and hang with Adrien," Raul notices that both Adrien and Saul have lowered their heads, "What?"

"Lucian died today, while you were out, and I don't know if you want to spend time with me. Nate's on his deathbed too, so I'll be in the hosp..." he chokes, wipes a tear from his eye, and clears his throat, "I'll be at the hospital tonight spending time with Nate, hoping he can get better," Adrien hugs Raul, then coughs, "Excuse me... I have to go." Adrien makes it a few steps away from the group and falls to his knees, sobbing. 

Calaen's heart drops. It's painful to see the man he cared for and loved, upset and broken. He walks over to help Adrien stand, "Let me walk you to the hospital." Adrien brushes Calaen off, refusing his help. Calaen sighs, "Adje, please let me help you, and Nathaniel."

Adrien stops, anger and frustration replacing his sadness, "Help me? You sure helped enough. Do you know how hard I had to work to get where I am now? Do you know what I went through, missing ten years of my life? I'll make it on my own."

Saul watches Calaen offer his sincere help to his uncle and Raul can see the jealousy envelop in his emerald green eyes, "Relax Saul, he's only offering to help," Raul walks over to his father, "If you learned how to control your temper, we all wouldn't be in this predicament, and Jake would still be alive." Saul rolls his eyes and grunts his response to Raul. 

"Wait Adje, I'll come too," Raul runs to catch up with his great uncle and Calaen. The three of them walk silently. Raul, trying to be strong for his uncle, doesn't want to show that he is upset his grandfather passed without being able to say goodbye. He tries to block the memories of Lucian out, but they break down the dam and flood his mind. Lucian pushing him on the swings, Lucian cuddling with him, Lucian taking him out shopping for school clothes and birthday presents... His tears fall heavy. No. He can't let them see him like this. Hunger. That's it! His hunger will cause him to focus on keeping that at bay rather than his emotions. Raul sighs aloud. 

"What's wrong Raul?" Calaen can sense Raul's grief. 

"I need to feed... Soon," Raul whispers, still ashamed of what he has become, or to speak of it, even in the presence of those who know what he is.

"Raul, we'll stop somewhere and isolate someone, you can take a little," Calaen offers.

"No. We can make it to the hospital and drop him off, then I need to disappear into the woods." Calaen nods, understanding that Raul has boundaries he will not overstep. Perhaps it is some sort of hunters' code. 

"I take from animals too, because I feel bad taking from humans," Calaen shares his perspective.

"Yeah... Something like that," Raul exhales and turns away from Calaen.

"Oh my God... You're a killer," Calaen raises his whisper.

"Shut up, don't say that too loud," Raul grabs Calaen's arm to pull him in close, "I have to take from animals, one, because I am a hunter and it would go against everything I stand for if I fed from a human, and two, yes, I feed to kill... on multiple beings. I'm not satisfied with just taking a little from one being and letting it scamper away," Raul elaborates more than he cares to.

"Spoken like a true monster," Calaen giggles. 

"It's not funny... I hate it," Raul struggles to control the tone of his whisper. 

"But you control it, and you can go long periods of time without feeding," Calaen praises the young man. 

Raul sighs, "I don't want anyone to know that... my weaknesses."

"And no one will," Calaen stops as they approach the hospital entrance, "Please, come up for a moment. I need to help Nathaniel, if I can."

Raul nods and follows Adrien and Calaen to the emergency ward. Calaen cloaks himself while Adrien walks up to the reception area, where the same triage nurse is sitting, to ask for Nate, "I came in earlier with Nathaniel O'Halloran, I have my nephew with me, he's a friend of Nathaniel also." 

"Oh, yes, I remember you, big boy," she blushes as she chuckles.

"Yeah, great, thanks," Adrien turns red, and looks around to see who heard her comment, as he grabs Raul and quickly moves toward the back to Nate's room. Calaen smiles, under the cloak, remembering how sweet and sensitive Adrien is. Adrien and Raul enter the room first, Calaen enters, but remains cloaked. 

"What took you so long? You know how hard it was not to die for all of that time?" Nate, still cracking jokes, even on his deathbed. Adrien lets a small chuckle escape before the tears come again.

He leans over the bed to kiss Nate's lips, "Nate, baby, you're not allowed to die. I just got you back."

"Calaen gasps quietly. He misses Adrien, his sense of humor, his personality, but most of all his kindness, and his ability to see good in anyone, even vampires. As much as he misses Adrien, he knows that he and Saul are together, and that Adrien belongs with Nate. Calaen turns his attention to Raul. So strong, so clever, yet so weak. He can't embrace who he has become, his powers, or that he has to control his feedings. With Adrien distracting Nate, he moves his cloaked hand lightly up and down Nate's body, healing him the best that he can. 

When he finishes, he taps Raul's back, then Adrien's side. Raul slides up to distract Nate by talking with him and Adrien walks out to the hall with Calaen, "What's up?" He asks Calaen, looking at the floor. 

Calaen uncloaks himself now that he is out of view of the door. "He's stable, it may take a few times to completely heal him, but he'll be ok," Calaen tilts his head to meet Adrien's eyes. 

Adrien looks up and looks away again, "OK, thank you. Let me know when you can help again."

"Sure, it..." Calaen moves over to Adrien's line of sight, but Adrien looks down and away again. Calaen lowers his tone, "It should probably be done again soon, perhaps tomorrow morning," he suggests. 

"Yea, thanks. You know where to find me," Adrien says as forcefully nice as he can, and walks back into Nate's room.

Raul joins Calaen in the hall, "Ready?" Raul asks in reference to joining him in the woods for a feeding, but he realizes Calaen's pain. "What is it?"

"It's nothing," Calaen shakes off his confusion and smiles, "Let's go to the woods together," he lets out a small giggle and begins to skip. Raul joins him until they trip over one another leaving the hospital, and fall to the ground laughing.

The wooded area just passed the downtown square is calm. Raul gathers large sticks and logs in a pile. He spits on the pile and snaps his fingers, starting a fire. Calaen is amazed at what powers Raul is able to pick up on. "We'll be ere a while. Get comfortable," Raul takes his shirt off and folds it next to Calaen, then takes his chain necklace off, his shoes, and socks, then finally his pants, setting everything neatly near Calaen.

He notices Calaen's puzzled look, "It gets messy." Raul's form changes, his muscles tense, and he stands still, listening to the sounds in the wooded area. He hears something traveling with speed, and quickly takes off in the direction the sound is coming from. He jumps and tackles a coyote, punching it to disable it, then rips its head clean off to drink the blood spilling out. Another sound catches his attention while he feeds, moving at a slower pace, but with heavier footsteps, in the direction he just came from. He quickly drains the coyote and tuns back to see a bear approaching Calaen who sits still.

Blood is smeared on Raul's face, and drips down his torso, staining his white boxer briefs red. He jumps on the bear hirring spots in it's neck to paralyze it. He then dives in to drink from it. He nods to Calaen to join him, as there is plenty, and he is becoming satisfied with his feeding. 

"It's your kill, go ahead," Calaen politely declines, feeling a bit of hunger piercing him as he watches Raul drink deeply.

"Come on, I can't finish, I'm good," Raul taunts.

Calaen gets up and moves over to the bear to begin feeding. His instincts take over. Sharing a kill with another is something he has never done, not even with Saul. He loses control momentarily allowing himself to become close to Raul, to share this moment with Raul. Raul fills his mouth with blood and empties it into Calaen's mouths, forcefully swishing it around with his tongue until Calaen swallows. Again, Calaen goes back down to drink from the corpse. Raul smirks at him, blood dripping down his chin onto his torso again. Calaen pulls a rounded small glass dish from his inner coat pocket, and spits the blood into it, then sets it down on the ground. Raul pushes Calaen on the corpse. Calaen gasps. Raul slowly removes his boxer briefs, letting them fall to the ground, then moves to the corpse to climb on top of Calaen. He bites Calaen's lips, then begins stroking and rubbing his own member, "Come on," he growls his invitation.

Calaen becomes excited, uncomfortable, and afraid of what Raul's next move will be, though he can't deny Raul has a formidable athletic form, silky soft skin, and a very sexy demeanor. He allows the young monster to undo his pants and pull them down. "Relax, I'm not going to fuck you," Raul says slyly. 

Raul lifts the glass dish, full of the blood Calaen spit into it, and sets it between them gently. He begins jerking his own member with one hand and Calaen's member with the other. His hand rubbing and squeezing it just right, then rubbing the wet tip of his own member against Calaen's. Raul tries to hold on, but he has become too excited. He feels Calaen becoming wetter, hears Calaen's breathing becoming heavier. He positions both of their members over the dish, "Hold yourself as still as you can," Raul whispers. Calaen nods, then throws his head back as his member spits his cum into the dish. He lifts his head back up, exhales in satisfaction, and views Raul smirking at him as he finishes letting himself go into the dish. 

Raul moves over to Calaen, puts his arm around his father's lover, and pulls the man close to him. He lifts the dish, and sips from it, then holds it to Calaen's mouth. Calaen then sips from it. They alternate sipping from the dish until it's gone. 

Raul uses his shirt to wipe the dish clean and hands it back to Calaen, then sits next to him, "You miss him don't you?"

"Huh? Adrien? Yes sometimes. He's a good man, but it wouldn't have worked. Nathaniel is perfect for him, and he is perfect for Nathaniel. What upsets me is he can't even look at me. I feel bad for what I put him through. I just wish we could still be civil to one another," Calaen explains. "How about you? You ever going to talk to your father?"

"I try, but he won't talk to me. It's funny, your father reminded me of the way my father treats me," Raul puts his shirt over her head and pulls his pants back on without the boxer briefs. "I feel so dirty," he scoffs.

"I'm sorry, I've never done that before. It was erotic, but I feel a little awkward, too," Calaen chuckles. 

"I told you it gets messy," Raul tosses his boxer briefs in the burning fire, "Let those burn for a few minutes, then we'll go. There's an abandoned house a block away that still has running water we can shower. There's a washer and dryer too, we can wash our clothes."

"Will the blood come out?" Calaen questions skeptically.

"I stored a bottle of bleach there," Raul puts out the fire and takes Calaen by the hand.

Abandoned or not, the house is kept up. It is empty, but the yard is clean and trimmed. there are no over grown shrubs or weeds, and the garage is clean, with the exception of a few cob-webs in the corners of the ceiling. Raul opens the door leading from the garage into the house, where the laundry room is just to the left. They go into the laundry room and strip their clothes, throwing them into the little front-loader washing machine. Raul shuts the door and opens the detergent compartment, putting the bleach in the space labeled 'bleach'. He runs into the kitchen and grabs the antibacterial, 'tough action grease cutting', dish detergent and pours a little into the the space labeled detergent, hoping that will better assist with the wash. 

"Come on, the bathroom is this way," Raul leads Calaen through the kitchen, through the empty living room, then through a master bedroom that has a large bathroom with a stand-in shower on one side and a small garden tub on the other. "You can bathe in here," he pulls a bar of soap out of the drawer under the sink and hands it to Calaen. 

"I can take the tub, if you want to shower," Calaen offers.

"No, that's ok. There is a smaller bathroom upstairs I can use," Raul answers.

"Do you need the soap?" Calaen offers the bar of soap.

"No, I have a bar of soap in that bathroom, too." Raul leaves the bathroom. 

Calaen turns on the shower water and begins lathering himself with the bar of soap, watching the bloody suds run off of him and down the drain. He looks to his left to see a half empty bottle of shampoo sitting on the shower rack, "Oh, thank God." He pours enough shampoo to cover the center of his palm and begins scrubbing his hair. As he rinses his hair clean, he panics, "Oh... I forgot to ask about a towel." 

Calaen turns the water off and opens the shower door to see a towel rack on the opposite side of the shower, with two towels folded on it. "He's a good kid," as soon as the words come out, Calaen feels awkward again. He dries himself quickly and wraps the towel around his waist, then leaves the bathroom with the intent on checking on the clothes in the washing machine, but he stops by the stairs hearing small whimpers within the running water of the upstairs shower. He quietly moves up the stairs and pushes the bathroom door open slightly. Though it is clear, he can barely see anything through the thick plastic shower curtain. The water turns off, and he hears Raul sniffle, then he sees Raul reach his hand out to grab the only towel off of the rack. Raul sighs, and the curtain opens.

Calaen moves out of view from the door and tries to make his way down the stairs as quietly as he can, now that he doesn't have the sound of the shower running to drown out his footsteps. Was Raul crying? Why? Calaen leans against the kitchen counter. Raul comes down the stairs, a towel wrapped around his waist, his hair disheveled in his face, slightly covering his eyes, and water still dripping down his back and abdomen.

"Everything ok?" Calaen tries to ask without prying too much.

"Everything is fine," Raul answers calmly. 

"You know, if I hadn't see you display this side of you tonight, I'd think you are still very human, more so than your father," Calaen says in a flirtatious manner, that he can't help.

"Please don't mention what you saw, I'm not proud of it, or what we shared," Raul pulls his towel off and twists it up, "Now you have five seconds to move or I'm going to crack that ass," he laughs. 

Calaen takes his towel off and tries to twist it up, but it doesn't crack as well as Raul's. He looks at Raul, puzzled by how he can use the towel like that so well. 

"Years in the locker room," Raul chuckles before he counts down again, "four, three, two," he raises his voice. Calaen swings his towel around Raul's legs and pulls, tripping Raul. Raul grabs Calaen and falls on him. They both laugh. "Your kind of fun," Raul compliments. "How did you end up with my drab of a dad?"

"He's fun in his own way. Everything you boys do, is new to me. I'm so much ol..."

"Shhh.... I'm going to stop you right there, because everything was cool until you started to say that," Raul chuckles. "You're not old Calaen... Ok, you are fucking ancient, but you don't look it, you're powerful, and you seem pretty quick to keep up with new things. Bet Saul won't."

"You think?" Calaen raises his brow.

"I know he won't. He is so set in his ways, and he's tired of human interaction. Hell, he was tired of human interaction when he was human. And after he married Jake, again, they were like hermits unless they had to travel for their profession," Raul goes off on a tangent.

Calaen swallows as hard as Raul's truthful words hit him, the man he loves, a hermit. It's true, Saul doesn't go out much, and they spend a lot of time together, but they are always home, or hiding. they never go out and interact with other people, at least try to enjoy human interaction once in a while. "You are so different. Why? You look like your father, but you think and act differently," Calaen finally asks, having the pleasure to spend time with and get to know his... lover's son. Calaen strays away from the word step-son, after what they shared, it may be inappropriate. 

"I wasn't only raised by Saul. My uncle Sal, my grandfather Lucian, and even my uncle Adrien played a huge part in raising me, but more than that, I watched every mistake Saul made, I watched everything he failed, and I promised myself I wouldn't do the same thing." Determination sounds in his vocal tone as he explains the difference between his personality and his father's. "I'm always ten steps ahead of him Calaen, because I know him so well, his likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, fame, and shame. He knows nothing about me, nor does he care to, that's my advantage when it comes to him."

"Heh," Calaen scoffs in agreement, astonished at how smart Raul is, how much attention to detail he has.

They sit on the carpeted living room floor, leaning on one another as they sleepily wait for the clothes to finish washing. Spin cycle. Almost there. The washing machine stops. Raul gets up slowly, leaving Calaen sleep, to throw the clothes in the dryer. He returns to his spot next to Calaen, leans against the man comfortably, and begins to drift off to sleep again, wondering what anyone would think had they walked in the house and stumbled upon two naked men sleeping propped up on one another, but he ceases to care in the moment.The men fall back and sleep peacefully on the floor.


	13. Chapter 13

"Jake!"

Jake appears diligently, "Yes, Sire."

"Where are those children? My nephew's children?" Azrael asks in a condescending tone. 

"I do not know, Sire. It appears they have escaped with the humanoid beasts," Jake stands firm. 

"Hmm, let's go report this to Lucifer," Azrael grabs Jake by the arm, and summons for Jake's team to join them.

Azazael dips into a sealed, hidden passageway, holding his breath, until he hears their voices fade. He exhales his relief into the stagnant air, while sweat is beginning to form on his forehead, moistening his red hair-line. He follows the passageway around to the other side of Hell, Lucifer's side. No one uses these tunnels. It seems he's the only one who still has access to them, or remembers that they are here. Well, him and, "Semi," Azazael grabs the blonde angel out of the view of the door. 

"What is it? Why did you call me here?" Semhiazah carries himself with dignity and pride as he asks. Azazael looks upon his former partner's form, his tone muscles, his long blonde hair, his soft skin, his bright blue eyes that shine bright even in the dark tunnel. 

"I need help," Azazael admits.

"You need more help than I can give you, what's new?" Semhiazah retorts, folding his arms. 

"Don't do this to me," Semhiazah can see the concern in Azazael's golden eyes as a stream of light coming from the crack in the door hits his face. 

Semhiazah pulls him in, awkwardly and hugs him, feeling his strong body, his well worked muscles, and breathing in his sweet scent that always puts him at ease.

"Semi, I'm sorry," Azazael pleas.

"You're such a liar," Semhiazah scoffs, "Tell me what you need."

"I need you," the red-headed warrior moves to hug Semhiazah again, but is rejected. "Fine," he grunts. "They want something with Calaen's children."

"And that concerns me, how?" The blonde angel begins walking the tunnel with Azazael.

Azazael stops and turns to face him, "He's your god-damned child too."

Semhiazah swallows the lump in his throat. "Ok," he whispers, "Should we find Calaen?"

"You can. The kid fucking HATES me," Azazael expresses as they continue to make their way through the tunnel.

"Do you blame him? Look at how you treated him..." 

"You don't understand, do you? I treat him like that so they think that him being alive is a burden on me. I treat him like that because if I show the slightest interest in him, they'll rip him from me, and he's the only part of you that I still have," Azazael clears his throat. 

"Can we not do this now?" Semhiazah pulls Azazael back against the wall as they reach the other side and the tunnel ends.

"There's another passageway that will lead to Lucifer's area, I just gotta..." Azazael walks about, feeling the wall for an opening. Semhiazah rolls his eyes. "Found it," Azazael calls out.

"Of course you did," Semhiazah sighs as he feels Azazael grab his hand and pull him.

The passage opening led them to the large waiting are near Lucifer's room, right next to the door. Semhiazah sits down and puts his head down, "Like I have nothing better to do..." he mutters.

Azazael rolls his eyes at Semhiazah's comment, and tries hard to listen in on the conversation.

"They join us or we take them out," Lucifer says to a room full of angels and demons. Glass clanks, and liquid can be heard pouring into the glass. "Calaen wasn't supposed to live. He's an abomination. Why father ever allowed Azazael to take feminine form, just so Semhiazah can procreate with our... demonized little brother," the room laughs and giggles. "Then he allowed that abomination to live," Lucifer continues, pausing only to sip his drink, "Now that abomination has procreated with a human male... Humans and their technology."

"The man he procreated with is not human," a voice calls out.

"He was, until our precious little nephew turned him," Lucifer spits the words in disgust.

"He himself believes to be half human," another voice calls out.

"Yes, the story he was told is that the single woman he was left with, a wiccan, was his mother and Azazael knocked her up. He also thinks Semhiazah is his grandfather somehow. All a story to cover what was really done.

Azazael grits his teeth and looks down at his former partner, leaned back against the passage wall, who looks un-offended by anything that was said. He probably wasn't even listening, nor does he care.

"What?" Semhiazah responds to Azazael's look of disgust.

"You didn't hear any of that?"

"No, and I don't care to. It's probably the same bullshit they pull often," He mimics quotes, "Calaen is an abomination." he scoffs, "Fuck them."

Azazael slowly moves closer to Semhiazah as he stands up. The blonde looks up to see Azazael standing in front of him, "What are you doing? Back up."

Cringing at Semhiazah's words, and the pain they spike in his chest, the Angel of the Sun does as he is told, and emits a guttural growl in response.

"Is this all you needed me for? I have other tasks I could be doing? Don't you have some demons to train, or an incubus, maybe a succubus, that can preoccupy your time?" Semhiazah Begins walking toward the tunnel's exit when Azazael grabs his hand.

"No, I don't," Azazael mutters.

"You're such a liar," Semhiazah pulls his hand back.

"You're ok with their story, their lies?"

"Azazael, what's the difference? Does it even matter?" The Angel of Pride sighs, and continues walking out to the open corridor. 

"What about the kids? Do they matter?" Azazael punches the wall, feeling helpless, feeling like the lives he is responsible for should matter, or maybe he is just holding on to the part of his ex-lover that is still bound to him. "Do I matter?" His unheard whisper fading as if the words never fell from his lips. He exits the passageway into the corridor, grabs the first demon he sees and disintegrates it. The corridor erupts into chaos, demons and angels running for their existence. 

The party in Lucifer's room is disturbed by the hustle and the screams of those running and those trying to battle. 

"Oh for fuck's sake, what is going on?" Lucifer swirls the last sip in his glass and rolls his eyes before gulping it down. "Ramiel, go check outside to see what kind of an uproar this crazy house is in now... please?" Lucifer bats his eyes mockingly, then slams his glass on the tray next to the bottle.

"Your Eminence? It's Azazael... A very pissed off Azazael." Ramiel closes the door. 

"What is he doing over here?" Azrael questions.

"Jesus Fucking Christ... Someone find my fa-vo-rite little brother." The room stares at him blankly. "Semhiazah... Someone find me Semhiazah. I have to go tame a beast," Lucifer opens the door to see his young brother with black wings in full span, his bare muscular abdomen tense and tainted with sweat and dirt, and a cloth band around his forehead to keep his disheveled red hair out of his golden eyes.

"Oh, Zael... You're hot when your mad," Lucifer chuckles as he scouts for the best angle to restrain his enraged brother. "Care to tell me what is going on? Why you've come over here to wreak havoc? Hmmm? Does Semhiazah have something to do with this? Should I end his pretty little existence? Would that make you feel better?"

"No," Azazael grunts and tries to pull himself out of Lucifer's grasp.

"Got him," Azrael returns quickly with Semhiazah.

"You want to lower the temperature a bit, now, little bro?" Lucifer speaks softly to his little brother, who grunts his response and turns away. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt my favorite little brother," Lucifer winks and smiles.

Azazael looks at Semhiazah, who shows concern and disappointment, "Why?" Semhiazah mouths the question. 

"I love you," Azazael mouths back as he is pushed and led back to the barracks by Lucifer and Azrael, where it is likely he will be restrained or punished for his actions. He turns around once more to take a last glimpse at Semhiazah before being pushed forward.

"Liar," Semhiazah whispers, tears begin falling from the pools in his radiant blue eyes. Azazael smiles, because embedded in the whisper he hears,"I love you, too." At least that's what he hoped to have heard. 

***

Jake and the others meet in the planning room, "We've done it their way, I've got a plan that we can follow, and take those kids out without them knowing. Hell, we'll take out the parents too," Jake announces among his small group.

"We can take the human out. We can't touch Calaen, or we will have to deal with his bat-shit crazy parents," A reaper informs Jake.

"We'll get him too," Jake's memory of meeting Calaen at the cafe with Adrien comes to the foreground of his mind. A memory that quickly turns sour when he finds Saul, his lover, his husband, a monster. The monster who killed him, after everything he had done to keep his family together. Hate. That's the only word that can describe the feeling that Jake has for Saul. Hate. When he thinks of Calaen too. He begins to seethe.

"J, we need to hurry this meeting along or reschedule. Others have begun entering the room," his associate whispers to him.

"Reschedule," he whispers back. "We'll catch up later, I'll let you know when."

***

"Rope him," Lucifer holds Azazael in the pit as Azrael tries to bind him to the the pillars. The rope catches fire and quickly burns. Azrael sighs and pulls the fortified chains from the pillar to wrap them around Azazael's wrist. The chain melts. Azazael smirks at his older brother. 

"Stop making this difficult, Zael, I don't want to do this to you," he whispers.

"Enough. You can't hold him with these materials," Lucifer conjures a magic fortified rope that wraps around Azazael's wrists, ankles, and torso. "Don't move or wiggle too much, pumpkin, or you'll make my pretty little rope all bloody," Lucifer kisses his little brother's head. "How can you smell so good, when you are so dirty?"

Azazael scoffs, "Whatever... Maybe dad likes me better." His comment is quickly replied to with a punch to his jaw. He spits the blood, trickling into his mouth from the lip his teeth pierced on impact, out onto his older brother.

Lucifer pushes himself against Azazael, and grabs his chin to pull his face close to his own, "I think I'm going to fuck you."

Azazael smirks, "I'll hurt you."

"Well, then how about I fuck Semhiazah instead, and you can just sit there and watch, pumpkin," Lucifer licks his brother's cheek.

Lucifer lets go of Azazael and takes his leave with Azrael, leaving him restrained in the pit. 

***

"Tea time," Jake calls to a member of his small group.

The member moves over to his other group members and announces, "Tea time, ladies and gentlemen."

V, a female demonic reaper, wraps her arms around Jake, now known as J, and whispers in his ear, "I have their schedules memorized. There is very slight randomization in the schedules."

"Watch for the young vampire, Raul. If he is in their lives, there will be a lot of randomization in the schedules," J warns V.

***

Bound against the pillar, Azazael hangs his head. He lifts his head again, hearing footsteps approach him. Semhiazah runs to him, "Why would you do that?" He runs his hands through Azazael's hair, then hugs him. Azazael winces. Semhiazah jumps and gasps, "Oh... I'm sorry."

Azazael smirks. His face so close to Semhiazah's. Semhiazah looks up at his once lover. His golden eyes soft and caring. Semhiazah grabs Azazael by the back of his head and presses his lips against his. 

He touches the magic infused rope and it defuses and falls off of the bound angel. "Thank you," Azazael rubs his wrists. "Why would you help m..."

Azazael's words are cut off by Semhiazah pressing himself against him. Semhiazah pushes his tongue into his partner's mouth. Azazael pulls back to break the kiss, "Whoa... What is this?"

"Shut up," Semhiazah opens his robe and pushes himself against his lover, ravaging his lips once more. Azazael loosens his pants, letting them slide off of his hips. Semhiazah drops his gaze to Azazael's member, then meets his eyes again "I want you, now," he pulls the Angel of the Sun to the ground and begins grinding against him.

"Uh huh,"Azazael scoffs, before Semhiazah bites his lip. "Make love to me, Semi," he says softly through his smile before kissing Semhiazah's lips.

***

"J, L is gone," G, a member of J's group comes forward and speaks.

"What do you mean?" J moves quickly to G and grabs her shoulders, pulling her close to him.

"He was following Raul, but was caught and bound by a witch. He was commanded to attack Raul. We lost any link we had with him." 

J kisses his team member's lips, "Go find him."

"But, sir," G call his attention while he walks away.

J stops, "Just go."

He walks into the meeting room, "Looks like we will have to take them from their activities. You heard them, if we can use them, they stay, if not, we terminate the abominations." Following G would be best. J needs to be sure she has back up if she encounters any danger, and he needs to ensure she obeys his request.

***

"You are such a hopeless romantic... Come on, we need to get out of here," Semhiazah pulls his disappointed partner up.

"I can't help the way that I am," Azazael replies with a sigh. 

They run, passing the barracks, " Zael, is there a passage back here?" Azazael takes Semhiazah's hand and runs ahead, leading him to the desolate area behind the barracks where a very narrow passage is located. He quickly scrapes his wrist across a jagged rock to draw blood, then drips his blood onto the passage lock and key. It opens, and they quickly duck inside. The sound of beating wings fills the large area, followed by Lucifer yelling.

Semhiazah begins to gasp, frightened they will be found, but his mouth is quickly covered by Azazael's hand from behind. He puts his lips to Semhiazah's ear and with a very faint breath, he shushes the blonde. He then pulls his angelic lover further in the passage. Azazael stops and draws his sigil in the dirt and gravel of the passage. Semhiazah looks at him puzzled. Reopening the wound on his wrist against the wall he drops blood into the center of his sigil and the ground opens. Still holding onto Semhiazah, they both jump in together.

***

J keeps his distance from G, cloaked in the shadows, between realms, to hide. A powerful energy begins emitting from the dark alley G enters. He peeks around the corner to see L, drained and bound. G attempts to posses the witch, but is quickly repelled by L. J sees the bondage spell creeping its way to G, slowly wrapping itself around her. He runs in, jolting the witch, halting the spell, and grabs G. He attempts to save L, but the spell has consumed him. He will need more energy.

"Thanks, J," G shames off the effects of the creeping spell. "Can we free him?"

"We can try together," J touches the witch, while G touches L. They hold hands and concentrate their energy into breaking the spell. The binds begin to weaken, but L is already expended. He disintegrates when the final thread of the spell is broken. 

J sees Calaen walking with the boys up the street. He leaves G and ventures to follow Calaen. Through the veil, he can see them stop at a small building labeled 'Early Learning Center'. He slips behind the building and enters through the glass window, who needs doors...

Calaen bends down and hugs his boys tight, then leaves the early learning center. The daycare provider, a short elderly woman with short cropped salt and pepper hair, large thick glasses, and a heavy Italian accent, turns away from the boys, asking them to follow her into the play area. J jumps in front of the boys and fully comes through the veil. He silences them before they can let out a peep, then lifts them and pulls them through the veil again.

"Your great uncle has wonderful things he can teach you. You can learn so much from him. You are more than what you perceive yourselves to be," he tells the boys in hopes they will be convinced to come with him and keep quiet on their whereabouts. 

The boys remain quiet, communicating nonverbally through expressions and quick telepathic whispers. 

***

"Where are we?" Semhiazah looks around at the golden, decorated room that reminds him of a pyramid chamber in ancient Egypt. 

"My room. No one knows it's here, and no one can get in but me," he gives a relieved smile to his lover. He walks over and wraps his arms around Semhiazah, gently stroking his long blonde hair, "Where were we?" His lips caress Semhiazah's.

"What are you doing?" Semhiazah chuckles through the kiss. 

"Mm, just make love to me," Azazael whispers. He then closes his eyes and continues kissing his partner, "No one will ever know," he slows his kiss and inhales sharply.

Semhiazah pushes against his chest, separating himself from the temperamental red head, "Stop," he scoffs. 

A tear falls from Azazael's golden eye, he turns away. Semhiazah grabs his arm and pulls him back to him, then presses his lips against his lover's. He guides Azazael to the bed in the back of the room, pushes him on the bed, and binds him with the magic infused rope once more. "Don't move too much, pumpkin, or you'll get my pretty little ropes all bloody." 

Azazael gasps. His perplexity written all over his face, "What the fuck did you just say?"

Semhiazah de-robes and straddles Azazael. He begins rubbing his member against his partner's, "Just stay still."

Azazael growls, "What are you doing?" He tries to keep his composure, he tries to resist arousal from physical contact with his partner. 

"How did you know where I was?" Azazael asks.

"Don't talk, pumpkin, just fuck," the blonde man on top of him whispers, continuing to grind against him. 

"Can you not call me that. I hate that. Lucifer calls me that," Azazael begins giving in to his sexual appetite, his member is hard and becoming wet.

"Awe, baby, what's wrong with a little pet name?" He leans down and takes Azazael into his mouth, quickly and forcefully sucking and pulling at him. 

Semhiazah's arousal heightens when Azazael begins to moan, "Let me in you?" Azazael nods, still skeptical, but unable to ignore his desire. The beautiful angel on top of him gently enters him, pushing little by little until he is completely inside of his lover.

The bound redhead begins writhing with his partner, the rope cutting into him and drawing his blood. Semhiazah leans down to lick the blood pool forming on his abdomen, then with the blood on his tongue, shoves it into Azazael's mouth, staining his teeth and coating his tongue.

"Why are you doing this?" Azazael inhales sharply, holding his breath momentarily before moaning his exhale while he cums.

"Because, princess, I told you I'd fuck you," Semhiazah's features begin to change, resembling Lucifer. Azazael gasps, looking beyond Lucifer to see Semhiazah in the front corner of the room, watching their session. Lucifer thrusts hard and groans loudly, then chuckles after he finishes, "God Damn. You are still one of the best fucks."

***

Drew keeps his eyes down. He breathes deeps and releases a sigh. He must be scared, or annoyed. Jayse taps Drew's foot with his own, but Drew just scoffs and shakes his head. Jayse puts his arm around Drew and pulls him in close. They fall asleep in their great uncle's bed. Lucifer comes in and greats the boys with open arms, "Boys, I've got some good things planned for you. This legacy could all be yours," he raises his arms to gesture about hell, "And more," he points to a scrying orb that shows a the realm of the living.

"Uncle Lucifer, why do you need us? You have plenty of brothers who are quite powerful. We are just the children of monsters," Jayse sits up and rubs his eyes.

"Your father, uh... Mother? Whatever Calaen is to you, he is my blood, my nephew, my essence, our essence, and he carries angelic grace," Lucifer sits on the bed next to Jayse, "And you boys harness a lot of that power, a lot of that grace, that can help us make this place better, even expand our horizons, if you will." 

"You just need our help and then we can go home?" Jayse helps his brother sit up 

"Yes, I just need your help, but promise me you won't contact that shit show of a brother of yours to come down here and tear my plans up again. Ok?" Lucifer touches Jayse on the nose lightly, then gets up and walks to his wet bar. 

Jayse nods, but feels uncomfortable when he sees his brother fold his arms and turn away from him.

Noticing a well kept baroque violin in the corner of the room, Drew gets off the bed to get a closer look. He picks up the violin and begins caressing the strings with the bow. Hearing his violin played, Lucifer panics and readies himself to discipline the child for touching it, until he observes that Drew handles the instrument correctly with care, and plays the notes melodically with powerful emotion.

"You are quite the little musician, continue to practice and you will be great. I can help you with that." Lucifer smiles at the young child, "Maybe you are more angelic than I gave you credit for. After all, you are a descendant of my favorite little brother."

"Drew," Jayse whispers, watching in awe as his brother plays. 

***

Calaen speed back to the Early Learning Center. The elderly care giver opens the door to let him in, "I don't know what happened Mr. La Torre. I let them in and had them follow me to the kitchen to prepare their breakfast and when I turned around, they were gone. I didn't hear anything. I searched the house and called nearly everyone in the neighborhood looking for the. I've even called the police, they are searching for them as well."

Calaen breaks down, tears spilling down his cheeks. He feels helpless. A vampire of his status, his power, helpless, hopeless, distraught, and defeated. That's it... Defeated. The dread of having to tell Saul builds up. His only hope, his last wild card, Raul. He's got to find Raul. Awkward... This is going to be awkward. Raul, his lover's eldest son. He hasn't seen Raul since the other day when they parted ways after their shared moment of primal intimacy. He can only assume Raul had gone back to Nate's, but a hunter never stays in one place. He inhales deeply and sighs his exhale. Raul has a mental link with Jayse. It's his only hope of saving his sons. He arrives at Nate's nearly instantaneously and knocks on the door. No one answers. He knocks louder. Still, no answer. Calaen realizes he is going to have to enter by teleporting in. He hates that, but it is an emergency and he needs to find Raul. Convincing himself his actions are justified, he enters. The house is quiet and clean. No one appears to be home. He stops to view a picture on the entryway table of Adrien and Nate at an event together. Both of them smiling, leaning close to one another lovingly. He smiles, happy that Adrien is happy, but missing him all the same. The kitchen is quiet and the living room is empty. Not an electronic is on and buzzing. He walks up the stairs and enters Nate's bedroom. It's clean and organized. The bed is made up and the furniture is well kept. Adrien has changed, the thought comes to him as a surprise. He checks the other two bedrooms, one set up as a home office, and the other a guest bedroom, but no one is in the house. He walks back down the stairs and through the kitchen, noticing the basement door is cracked open. He opens it slowly and quietly walks down the stairs. The basement is dark, and thick black curtains have been hung around the windows to expell any light from seeping in. He views the open room with a dresser, a small stand with a television on it, and a night stand next to a messy full sized bed with Raul sleeping in it. He exhales his relief, walks over to the bed and sits next to the sleeping being. "Raul," he whispers, nudging the young man with his hands to wake him. Raul does not awaken. He shakes him harder, "Raul," he says louder. Raul stirs and rolls over, sitting up quickly when he realizes it is Calaen sitting in the bed with him, "What are you doing here?" "I need your help," Calaen begs. "Look, what happened the other day...that was a rare occasion, and not something I'd invite you into my bed for," Raul comments. Calaen rolls his eyes, unnoticed by Raul in the pitch black of the basement. "Jayse and Drew are missing again. Can you connect with Jayse?" Raul leans his head against his hand, "What happened?" "I don't know. I dropped them off at their daycare and the woman called me shortly after to say they've disappeared," Calaen stresses, tightening his fists and fighting the urge to cry again. "Damn it. Ok, let me try," Raul tries to connect mentally with his younger brother, but fails. He tries again, but this time he can sense a barrier has been erected. "He blocked me." "What?" Calaen gasps. "Just what I said, he blocked me. I can't get in, he doesn't want to be found." Raul lays down and pulls the covers over him. "Raul, I can't tell your father this. We can't go through this again," Calaen panicks. "What do you want me to do? I can't get him," Raul folds the pillow back under his head, but Calaen pulls him back up. "Will you stop! I'm trying to sleep." "Come with me," Calaen begs again. "Oh yeah, that's a good, not awkward situation," Raul lays down again and turns away from Calaen, but he is unable to relax nor fall asleep hearing Calaen's sobs. He kicks the blankets off and pushes himself up, "Alright... Damn it... I'll come with you," Raul gets up and begins muttering disgruntled comments to himself as he makes his way to the dresser and pulls clothes out to change into. Need a shirt... Need a shirt, he pulls open the middle dresser drawer then looks to the "already worn" clothes pile to the left of his dresser, and pulls his grey hoodie out and roughly pulls it over his head. Pants. He slams the middle drawer shut and opens the bottom drawer with force. He pulls a pair of jeans out, shoving his right leg in first then his left leg as he hops over to stairs where he left his shoes.

Calaen puts his hand on his head and sighs, finding Raul's actions and utterances childish, and unnecessary. 

"Come on," Raul beckons in a tone that depicts his annoyance. 

Calaen gets up and leaves out of the basement storm hatchway with Raul. As they step out onto the street in the direction of Calaen's home, he locks arms with Raul, but the young man pulls his arm back, uncomfortably. 

***

"Fuck you!" Semhiazah growls loudly at Azazael, who sits on the bed hanging his head. 

"Why are you so upset, if you can't stand me in the first place?" Azazael finally speaks, bracing himself for the impacting blow Semhiazah will throw at him, but it doesn't come. 

"Is that what you think?" Semhiazah walks towards the bed but maintains his distance. 

"I should have known it was too good to be true," Azazael falls back onto his bed and folds his arms behind his head. 

"What?" Semhiazah comes a little close, closing the gap slightly between them.

"I should have known it wasn't you, is all I am saying," Azazael looks away trying to fight the tears from coming, but his mind will not be distracted. 

"If you were suspicious, why did you go through with it?" Semhiazah sits on the bed next to him, but receives no answer. "Zael?"

Azazael turns to face Semhiazah, "I wanted so bad to believe it was you, Semi," he speaks softly. "I didn't care about anything because you were in my arms, or rather, I thought you were." He pauses momentarily to let a strong wave of pain pass, "Whatever. Clearly this," he points from himself to Semhiazah, "Isn't ever going to be anything more than what it is now, if it lasts, and even that is nothing."

"Nothing?" Semhiazah raises his brow, "That's what it is, huh?"

Azazael nods cocky and gives his visitor a look of disgust, "They've separated us. They hate me, love you, and try to make everything so difficult. And they've got you hating me too."

"You did that one yourself," the blonde retorts.

Azazael rolls his eyes and sucks his teeth. "They tried to kill our son."

"So did you," Semhiazah turns away from his once lover.

Azazael sits up, "What? I never tried to kill him. I'm the one who protected him." he says in defense, "Where the fuck were you?"

Semhiazah stands and walks to the ladder leading out of the tomb. 

"Semi?" Azazael manages a whisper through a tight throat.

Semhiazah turns around to face Azazael.

"I love you." Azazael whispers the words, knowing what his response would be.

"Liar." And there it is. The word he knew he would hear, but this time there was no emotion carrying with the word, just a stale, empty word. Semhiazah lifts off the ground and exits through the secret hatch.

Azazael gets up off the bed and follows his partner. He races through the hatch, but when he exits Semhiazah is no where in sight. Gone. Everything gone, Semi is gone, his heart is gone, though he cannot show it. Damn it... God damn it. 

He flies through the passageway with extreme speed, passing Semhiazah on his way. He slows momentarily to share to meet Semhiazah's eyes, then continues down the passageway. He hears Semhiazah's wings pick up behind him, excitement jolting him to move faster. Finally reaching the end of the passageway that leads to Lucifer's area, he halts quick, expecting Semhiazah to fly into him, but he does not.

Azazael turns around to see if his lover is behind him, but he sees nothing, just an empty, dark, corridor. He sighs and turns his attention to the opening. He sees Lucifer walk out of his room with Ramiel. Great, they are engaged in conversation and not likely to notice him or feel him watching them. They begin walking away. Azazael watches them as far as he can before having to close his eyes and watch the mentally to see how far they go. They're going to the other side. 

Relieved that the corridor is empty and his brothers have trekked out of site, he moves quickly and quietly out of the opening and across the open area to Lucifer's room. He sees the boys sitting on the bed.

"Who are you? Did uncle Lucifer send you to watch us while he takes care of his business?" Jayse studies his youthful looking grandfather's face. 

"No. I'm here to take you out of here. You belong with your parents. But first, there is someone I want you to meet," Azazael lifts both Drew and Jayse.

"Uncle Lucifer told us to stay put. He will come looking for us," Drew speaks. 

Azazael makes eye contact with his grandson. He can see Semhiazah's traits in him, softening his demeanor. He hugs the boy, "I won't let them take you again." 

Searching for Semhiazah with his mind, he enters the dark tunnels with the boys. "We have to move. Grab a hold tight." The boys each grab around his neck and nestle behind a wing. Neither of them ready to experience the speed at which their grandfather will travel. Drew burrows his head into Azazael's back, while Jayse embraces the rush. 

Azazael slows down, allowing his feet to touch solid ground. With the boys still gripping around his neck, they exit the tunnels into the corridors. He stands outside of Semhiazah's door looking in. Semhiazah's large room is full of fallen angels who plan and manage project tasks under him, and he sees Semhiazah working closely with Astaroth, the grand duke of this part of Hell. Semhiazah looks up to see Azazael standing in the door way and he gasps. The others follow Semhiazah's gaze to also observe the Angel of the Sun standing in the door way and the room falls silent. He kneels down to let the children down, off of his back. 

"What is this? What are you doing here?" Semhiazah growls angrily.

Azazael rolls his eyes, "It's nice to see you too, Semi. These are the boys. Just thought you might want to meet them before they come take them away again."

Semhiazah looks down at the boys, no emotion visible on his face, then looks back to Azazael, who becomes saddened by Semhiazah's lack of expression, "What of them? They do not belong in my quarters. Take them back to Lucifer's quarters at once," the Angel of Pride, Son of God states firmly.

He lifts the boys and carries them out, only to be met by Lucifer and Asmodeus, "Oh, fuck me..." Azazael erupts with holy fire surrounding his entire being. Drew and Jayse hide behind a pillar, but Jayse peeks his head out to see what is happening. 

"How much juice do you still have, little bro?" Lucifer chuckles while preparing to subdue his younger brother again.

"Enough to take you out," Azazael comments.

"We tried that last time, and as I recall, I won," Lucifer chuckles, bracing for his little brother's wrath.

"You did, did you?" Azazael smirks at Lucifer, hate, anger... Rage gleaming behind his golden eyes. He thrusts forward and pins Lucifer against the wall.

"Ow... You bastard... That hurt, a little," Lucifer grabs his brother on both arms just below the shoulder and uses his strength to shove him off. Azazael falls, landing on his feet. but sliding back from the force. 

He thrusts forward again, with enough power to bolt right through the wall, getting two inches in front of Lucifer before he is halted.

"Stop this!" Semhiazah shouts, his arms outstretched and his legs holding a wide base of stance to secure himself as he emits enough power to control them both. The boys look to Semhiazah, the man who wouldn't even acknowledge them, the man who ordered them be taken away.

Lucifer laughs, "Oh, Semi, I don't need you to protect me from him."

"You might," Semhiazah scoffs. "You will not touch him, not sexually nor violently," he continues to address Lucifer.

"Oh, I get it. Protecting your lover," Lucifer mutters as he touches ground, brushing his shoulders off and straightening his golden robes. 

Semhiazah rolls his eyes at his older brother and turns his attention to Azazael, who holds firm with teeth clenched and muscles tense, "And you will calm down, and do not ambush or touch my brother again."

Semhiazah releases his hold on Azazael. The Angel of the Sun walks over toward Semhiazah, holding a very firm gaze with him, them picks up the children and carries them down the corridor.

Semhiazah watches as they walk further and further away. He has never seen the fiery red head so passionate, showing love to these children. His heart aches, but the image of Lucifer making love to Azazael still clouds his mind and sparks his jealousy.


	14. Chapter 14

Saul meets both Calaen and Raul at the front door, "What's this? Where's Jayse and Drew?" His eyes narrow in disapproval as he folds his arms.

"They are spending extra time with Nancy?" Calaen answers forcing himself to smile.

"Nice try, but Nancy called here wondering if you were home yet and if you found the boys..."

"Oh, yes. I found them and they are spending time with my uncle," Calaen makes his way through the door and to the back of the house. 

"Who's your uncle? And what is he doing here?" Saul points to Raul, asking the question as if he is talking about a stranger, rather than his own son. 

"Fuck you, too, Saul," Raul mumbles.

Calaen comes back through and puts his hand on Raul's shoulder, "He helped me find the boys and take them to my uncle's."

"Where did you meet up with him?" Saul asks, smirking as he notices Raul becoming uncomfortable with Calaen's hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong Raul?"

"Nothing, just don't know where that hand has been," Raul chuckles, bringing himself some comfort and confidence to get in his father's face.

"Raul, I'll walk you home, then I'll stop at my uncle's to pick up the boys," Calaen says as he guides Raul out of the front door.

"Baby, you still have not told be who your uncle is," Saul states.

"Oh, I'm sorry. He's a rotten old monster, but he does love children. He wanted to meet them. He lives quite far actually. We may..." Calaen scoffs, then begins to control his breathing and calm himself to regain his composure, "I may be a little while. My uncle does not welcome humans." 

"Saul furrows his brow at his lover, "None of us are humans," he whispers, more for comic value, than to hide his words from open ears.

"Nor does he welcome monsters whom were originally human. He lumps them in the same category," Calaen kisses Saul's lips and leaves, pulling a mirthless Raul off of the porch with him. 

Saul assumes his mist form and follows them closely, undetected. 

"The entrance is near downtown, right?" Calaen asks as they approach the fountain. 

Raul nods his response and begins preparing to penetrate the veil. He concentrates his energy. Saul can see his son lift off the ground, fading in and out between this realm and another. What the ... Saul's mind is frozen when he sees Raul and Calaen disappear. 

He solidifies, his feet touching the solid ground once more. He looks into the fountain, but sees nothing in the fountain, just clear flowing water. Where could they have gone?

***

Raul and Calaen nearly miss the trolley, and grab onto the back rail as it takes off with great speed. 

"Hang on tight!" Raul yells to Calaen. 

"What?" Calaen shouts back.

"Hang on tight! If you fall off you get lost in purgatory!" Raul shouts back.

Calaen grips the rail tighter, "I know," he says, as a man's soul falls off the trolley, passing by him, and desperately trying to grab on to him to secure himself. Calaen maneuvers his body as best he can to avoid being dragged to purgatory with the man. 

Another soul flies through the back door and off the trolley, nearly hitting Raul's head. He ducks his head to miss the hit. 

Finally the trolley lands hard in front of Hell's gates. Both Calaen and Raul slam face first into the rail before their bodies thud on the ground. Raul crawls over to Calaen, then on top of him, where he rests his head momentarily. Calaen put his arm over Raul, "We made it," he chuckles, still trying to catch his breath. Raul opens his eyes to see that he and Calaen aren't the only souls lying in the street. There are other squatters sitting and sleeping in front of Hell's gates. 

"Crowded as usual," Raul acknowledges.

Calaen giggles in response, "Come on," Calaen stands up. His clothes are twisted and opened and his hair is blown up as if he stuck his finger in an electrical socket.

Raul begins laughing as Calaen straightens his clothes to the best of his ability. He pauses to look at Raul. "I'm... I'm sorry," he laughs, "You look like a mad scientist. Your hair is all like, blah," he raises his hands above his head to mimic the hair standing up.

Calaen reaches his hand out to help Raul to his feet. "Ok, let's go," Calaen guides a still chuckling Raul to the guard in front of the locked door at the north west gate. "Didn't do much for you, that ride. Your hair is still sticking up everywhere," Calaen scoffs as they make their way to the gate, "And your clothes look as disheveled as they always do."

"Why, thank you," Raul smiles sarcastically. 

"Hey Jim, he's with me, again." Calaen moves to the lock, but Jim quickly steps in front of him.

"Whoa, you can't go in, Calaen. Your uncle's orders." Jim blocks Calaen as he tries to maneuver around the nephilim bouncer.

"Why not," Calaen questions.

"Because your parent went and caused more trouble, got himself banned and locked away, and no one of his blood is welcome," Jim explains non chalantly. 

"Jim, we've been through this. I don't claim him," Calaen answers in a loud whisper. 

"Yeah, well the other one you claim stepped in and got himself punished, too," Jim folds his large arms.

"He wouldn't," Calaen gasps, "Why?"

"Wouldn't you? For your human lover? For your children?" Jim catches himself.

Calaen lowers his head, "Yes, Jim, I would."

Raul puts his arm around Calaen, "Cheer up, Daddio, we haven't run out of options yet." Raul points to the other gate which has been left open while the guards answer the disturbance in the center of the gates.

They both run over quickly and slip through the door before it closes. "You clever boy!" Calaen exclaims gripping Raul's shoulders and skipping merrily behind him for a moment. "We'll have a little way to travel, but we're in."

Calaen shrouds both he and Raul as they enter the busy corridor at the bottom of the stairs. "I don't know how long I can hold this but I'll do it as long as I can. The demons and reapers will not detect us, just stay clear of the angels," Calaen whispers to Raul. 

They walk down the busy corridor. So far so good, nothing but low level "administrative" demons, until they reach the barren training grounds and the barracks at the end of the long corridor.

Calaen gasps when he notices Abbadon guarding a bound Azazael, who turns his head and look directly at him. Something is different about him, he does not show his usual disappointment, and he is actually smirking. He nods his chin toward the other side of the room to suggest they move further over to stay undetectable. 

"Are you losing it, bro?" Abbadon asks.  
Azazael turns back to face Abbadon, "Losing what? My sanity? My freedom? My privileges? Or my lover? My son?" 

Calaen's heart jumps hearing his father's words. He actually acknowledged his existence. When they have gotten far enough ahead, Calaen turns around to take another puzzled look at the man he knows as his biological father, and he seems to mouth the words 'I love you, my child'. Is this some kind of joke? Is he going to alert everyone else of their trespassing? He couldn't, right? He captive and bound, isn't he? Will he tell Abbadon after they've gone?

Raul nudges Calaen, "Come on, man." Calaen shakes his head and continues moving forward. 

Finally they reach the corridor leading to the other side of Hell, the angels' side. They walk by the cells and rooms used for punishment and incarceration. Just ahead he sees Beezlebub standing guard at a cell. The corridor is too narrow, there is no way they can get by him undetected. Calaen grabs Raul's hand and pulls him by his side. They slowly make their way as close as they can. 

Calaen peaks around to see a glimpse of the beautiful blonde angel bound by similar magic binding. The Angel lifts his head. Blood from his neck and chest soak into his hair, giving it crimson highlights. He averts his bright blue eyes toward them, then nods and emits a powerful scream that throws off the senses of the demonized guardian.

Calaen pulls Raul swiftly passing the dizzied guard, looking back to see Semhiazah nod his head toward them. A tear trickles down the blonde's cheek and he hangs his head again.

It is taking everything Calaen has not to run back and try to defend the one blood relative he respects, understanding that it could not only cost his life and soul, but Raul's, and even Semhiazah's. They make their way out of the corridor of imprisonment to a lush, open area. 

Calaen begins to grow tired. He cannot keep both of them shrouded much longer as he feels his cloaking magic fading. The entire open area of demons and angels halt. All eyes on Calaen and Raul. A cloaked demon moves over to them quickly.

He unmasks himself by pulling his hooded shroud back. 

"Jake!" Raul gasps, "Dad," he corrects himself hoping that will buy him some compassion. 

"You're not allowed here," he forces both of them into Lucifer's area. 

Lucifer waltzes out of his room and closes the door behind him, "My dear nephew. Come. Sit with me a while."

Both Calaen and Raul follow Lucifer to a comfortable, luxurious sitting room that resembeles a very comfortable lobby of a five star hotel. 

"Why are you here?" He asks, tapping his knee with his index finger as if he is annoyed and impatient.

"I'm looking for my son's, again," Calaen holds eye contact with his uncle firmly. 

"Well, I'd say you better hang on to those children better. You can't keep losing them, can you?" Lucifer stands and begins walking away, "You are not welcome here at this time, not while your parents are being punished," he smirks with his back turned to the men.

Calaen immediately becomes confused, "Parents? You mean my father. What does my mother have to do with this? She isn't here. What have you done with her?"

"She has everything to do with it, when the man you know as your father is actually the one who took female form and birthed you. He," Lucifer asserts the pronoun, "needs a time out, and so does your father "

Calaen shakes his head in disbelief, "Azazael is my mother? That doesn't sound right? He's my mother?"

"In a crazy way, yes, you can look at it like that," Lucifer waves his hand.

"So, my father... Well that would mean my father is ..." Calaen begins, but he is cut off by his uncle.

"Semhiazah," Lucifer spits, "Semhiazah is your father."

"No, he's my grandfather, Azazael is his son..."

"Sure kid, believe whatever you want," Lucifer begins walking toward his room. "Oh, one more thing, you'll be joining them in custody.

Three high ranking, militant demons and two commanding angels appear to restrain Calaen and Raul. "Wait!" Calaen shouts.

Lucifer pauses before entering his room. "What you told me, is it true?" Calaen doesn't expect an answer to his question, but his uncle presents him with one.

"Yes, that is the truth," Lucifer snaps his fingers then continues into his room, and the two men are carried away by the troop. 

Jayse and Drew look up from their game of Senet to see their great uncle enter the room. Lucifer sighs.

"I heard my father," Drew comments.

"And I sensed my brother," Jayse adds.

"Nonsense, that was the group outside the door talking. One of them is a demon named J, formally known as Jake, who was a father figure to your brother. Your father, Saul's ex lover," Lucifer explains.

"Hmm," Jayse nods his understanding, but keeps his skepticism behind his calypso colored eyes. Drew raises his brow at his brother, and Jayse nods his response.

***

Calaen is separated from Raul. Jake and a commanding angel split off from the group guiding Raul down a desolate corridor, that probably leads to the barracks, while Calaen is led back through the corridor of imprisonment. Beelzebub opens the Semhiazah's cell to allow Calaen to be tossed in. He hits the wall and slides down until he slumps over. Semhiazah grunts, his eyes widen, seeing his son tossed across the cell like a rag doll, and he emits another powerful scream causing the demons to disintegrate, and the angels to fall to dizzying effects. Raum begins to bleed and falls. 

"You're lucky Lucifer won't let me touch you," Beelzebub groans.

"If he cared so much about me," Semhiazah's face twists in disgust, "Why did he send you?" The blonde spits at the being in front of him. 

"You'll have company until Azmodeus returns, then he is to take the boy and do as he pleases," Beelzebub informs the captive angel, who looks desperately at his unconscious son. Knowing that had he not been bound, he could stand against them. 

Calaen lifts his head. Semhiazah closes his eyes and sighs, thanking the father who had abandoned him and his brothers. Calaen looks to Semhiazah, but quickly turns away. 

"What is it?" Semhiazah asks, but Calaen does not respond. Down the hall a disturbance breaks out. Calaen and Semi hear shouts and Calaen can swear he hears Raul's voice. He shakes it off. Beelzebub takes off to assist with the disturbance.

An angel with large black feathered wings, scars and markings to decorate his arms and very toned chest and torso, and a black leather sash that covers his eyes appears. He enters the cell. His hair is short, platinum blonde, and styled similar to Raul's, Calaen notices. 

"Hey Sammy," Semhiazah smiles, "Thought you weren't coming."

Samael scoffs, "Why's that?"

"You took long enough," Samael touches the magical binding to release it. The useless rope loosens and falls off of Semhiazah's body. He quickly pulls Calaen up and props him over his shoulder.

"You might want to carry him on your back, we're going to have to fly," Samael informs Semhiazah.

"I can run out of here cloaking my self, I don't need any help. Besides, I'm not leaving without my step-son," Calaen struggles to escape Semhiazah's grip unsuccessfully.

Semhiazah chuckles and secures Calaen on his back before he and Samael take flight, rapidly through the corridors. 

"The other one was placed in the barracks. Jake stands guard of him while Abaddon guards Zael just outside," Samael informs him. 

"Great..." Semhiazah rolls his eyes and sighs.

They enter the training grounds, but before they can reach Abaddon and Azazael, Beelzebub comes up behind them and shoves Semhiazah, knocking him out of flight. Semhiazah hits the ground, catching himself with his hands and pushing himself back up into the air to take flight once more.

Azazael laughs, "Yes! Now that's how you fall with style!" Abaddon rolls his eyes. 

Now off of Semhiazah's back, Calaen runs into the barracks to see Raul, but he is stopped by Jake.

Samael and Semhiazah coordinate a maneuver that lands them a blow to Beezlebub, knocking him down. The large demon regains his composure and grabs Samael, tossing him into Semhiazah. Both angels let out a groan as their bodies collide and they fall to the ground. Abaddon turns away from watching the fight, "Why did they have to bring this shit here?" He asks more to himself than the Angel he is addressing.

Jake hears the commotion outside and makes eye contact with Calaen, "Your daddy is getting beat down," he shakes his head, chuckling.

Calaen, irritated by Jake's comment, moves to Raul, placing his hand on the young man's chest, to absorb some of his energy, then pelts Jake with improved strength.

Outside, Samael stands and takes flight once more, but Semhiazah does not, instead he creates a magical net on the ground. Samael weaves through the air, keeping his speed up, to keep from Beelzebub's clutches, as the demon gains on him quickly. Semhiazah lifts off the ground, aiming to halt Beelzebub as he closes the distance between him and Samael. The blinded angel zips passed Semhiazah, who intercepts Beelzebub's blow. The large ashen demon forces his horns toward Semhiazah, but misses. Taking advantage of Beelzebub's folly, Samael charges into him, thwarting him into the net, that begins to wrap itself around the creature and consume him.

"Is that going to kill him?" Samael asks hopeful.

Semhiazah furrows his brow at his brother, "No," he scoffs, "It will just lock him down in the void." Samael sighs a deep sigh. 

Abaddon lifts Azazael and and pulls him into the barracks, "We're leaving," he says as he and Jake huddle around Azazael, Raul, and Calaen. The group teleports out of the barracks. 

Samael and Semhiazah enter the barracks to find they have all gone. Not a trace of them left behind, not even a hint to where they have gone. They've just vanished. Semhiazah's eye begin to water and Samael pulls his brother in to hug him, "I'm sorry Semi."

"Why is he doing this?" Semhiazah lets go and cries hard on his brother's shoulder. "We were so close, I thought I was his 'favorite' little brother. Why would he want to hurt me like this."

"Maybe he is trying to hurt Azazael," Samael offers his comfort, "Or maybe he is just jealous of what you have. I mean, think about it Semi," Samael guides Semhiazah to sit with him. "You are his favorite little brother... there's no doubt about that. You both were daddy's golden boys, but Lucifer knew, or rather assumed he was daddy's number one golden boy, until he saw daddy giving you your way, all of the time. You turned down an arch position to lead the grigori, for freedom. He let you. He knew that you and Azazael were lovers, you never had to hide it, he just turned the other way. When Sodom and Gomorrah came out of the closet though... Oh boy, were they punished." Samael wraps his wing around Semhiazah, "Oh, and the kicker, he allowed Azazael to take feminine form to procreate with you and give you a son. Not to mention he turned his head a few times when you were out sleeping with women, when the rest of them were punished for it, and the only reason you took punishment was because you weren't going to let Azazael fall alone."

Semhiazah shakes his head, "That doesn't make me favored, it just makes me the son he didn't want to deal with. He had Lucifer by his side always. He was father's'go to' for everything."

"Yeah, but Lucifer sees if from a different perspective," Samael informs him.

***

Abaddon enters Lucifer's quarters, leaving Jake to sit with the small group of captives just outside. 

"What are you doing here? Where is Azazael?" Lucifer asks holding his composure, but Abaddon can see anger flash in his eyes. 

"He is outside of your door, still bound, his son and the other are outside as well. J stands guard of them. Semhiazah escaped. He is with Samael, and they have sent Beelzebub away. It was a good fight, but they won by knocking Beelzebub into some net or portal that consumed him," Abaddon explains as quickly as he can. 

Lucifer goes to his mini wet bar and pours a drink, disappointment expressed on his face, "Sammy? He must have helped Semi escape and when Beelzebub came after them, they stood and fought. Where did this take place?

"Right where I was, in the training grounds near the barracks," Abaddon answers.

"Figures... They were coming for Zael next. I don't think either of them have the heart to hurt you though," Lucifer begins to pace. "Damn it..." He mutters to himself, "They had an advantage in that area... I mean it's Zael's area, Semi knows it just as well as Zael, if not better, and Zael was there. He would have wanted to stay strong for his poor captive lover," Lucifer finishes his sentence in a mocking tone before swallowing the contents of his glass. 

"Why are you doing this to them?" Abaddon asks, folding his arms.

Lucifer cocks his head as if baffled why Abaddon would ask such a question, "Let me answer this with another question, where is my son?" 

Abaddon shakes his head, "What? Dead, the nephilim are all dead. All children spawned from angels are dead," Abaddon scoffs.

"Except..." Lucifer says in a snarky sing-song tone.

"Except the son of Semhiazah and Azazael," Abaddon nods, understanding where Lucifer is going with his speech.

"Don't get me wrong, I love my nephew. I do. I mean he is my favorite little brother's child, and I won't hurt him, but I want to raise his children. They are powerful. I know they are, and I think they'd be great here with us." Lucifer looks over at the sleeping boys on his bed. "Look at them, the pale one I can smell angel grace and essence coming from him," he points to Drew, "And that little devil, he's got some mojo, the boy can do things that others can't at his age. I conversed with him as if he we're an adult. They're smart," Lucifer points to Jayse then turns his attention to Abaddon.

"You are falling in love with these kids, looks like they will live," Abaddon smirks.

"They're great kids, and I want them to stay with us," Lucifer's eyes light as an idea comes across, "I'll talk to him," he says and exits the room.

Calaen sits outside of Lucifer's room, his body nearly pressed against Raul's to avoid close contact with Azazael, who he has known as his abusive and neglectful father, then finds out that he is the Angel who took female form to give birth to him. He can't even look at the angel, let alone meet his eyes. He's disgusted. Not disgusted that the man changed to give birth to him, but disgusted by the lies he's always been told and how he was treated by both Azazael and Semhiazah. It wasn't because Semhiazah was his grandfather that he barely saw him, it was because he was a horrible father who abandoned his son. Calaen begins to cry softly, thinking of his own son's, feeling he has somehow abandoned them.

Azazael watches Calaen, he wraps a wing around Calaen, but Calaen pushes him away. Azazael lowers his head and tears begin to fall on to his lap. Raul nudges Calaen and nods his head to Azazael. Calaen looks to Azazael, then back to Raul, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry," the angel of the sun says in a low tone that is almost a whisper. 

Calaen rolls his eyes, but doesn't respond. Again, Raul nudges him.

"I don't expect your forgiveness, Calaen. I just want you to know that I'm sorry and that I love you. I always have, but I was unable to show it, because," Azazael begins to choke a little, "because if I did, I thought they would hurt you, or take you from me, and for that I'm sorry."

Calaen sighs, "And you're not sorry for the lies?"

Azazael lifts his head, his golden eyes narrowed as he shakes his head in confusion.

"You gave birth to me? Why would you want to do something like that? And why would you lie about it?" Calaen rests his head against Raul, "You know what? I don't care, I just want to get my son's home safe, and away from you... All of you."

"They lied to cover it up. Semhiazah was my lover, and yes I was permitted to take feminine form to procreate with him, he's your father. But I've lost him too," another tear flows down the angel's cheek. "I thought if I could get you and your children out of here, I could prove to you that I love you, but I failed. I'm sorry," Azazael lowers his head again.

Calaen rolls his eyes again and sighs. Raul nudges Calaen, "Do you know what I would give to hear those words from Saul? I know I'll never hear them, but even now I feel like I have to prove myself to that bastard that took everything from me. The only one who showed he cared was Jake, and he's obviously not the caring parent anymore," Raul nods his head toward Jake. 

Calaen moves from Raul toward Azazael. He reaches for the angel's wing and runs his fingers through the soft black feathers, then puts his arms around Azazael. 

Azazael nestles his head against Calaen's shoulder. Lucifer's door opens and the tall blonde walks toward the group. "Awe, well I hope I'm not breaking up this family bonding moment," he snarks. "Good to know you actually care about your son," Azazael notices Lucifer's smirk as he's murmurs the comment directly to him.

"However, I'm not here to break anything up, I'm here to talk to you and my nephew," Lucifer kneels next to Calaen. "Calaen, your boys are absolutely lovely. I really want to care for them, train them... You have my word I will not use them or their lowers for anything vindictive, only to train them as I have trained my brothers," he smiles as genuinely as he can. 

"Oh, Luci..." A voice calls out from behind him in the corridor.

Lucifer shuts his eyes and smiles, recognizing the voice, "Semi," Lucifer turns to face his younger brother, "We're we playing Marco-Polo? It must have slipped my mind. I'm just in the middle of a conversation with your son," Semhiazah walks close to Lucifer, who touches his little brother's groin and clicks his tongue, "That's some fine work from your dick," he nods toward Calaen. 

Semhiazah rolls his eyes and sucks his teeth. Samael moves to Azazael and kneels down beside him, "I'm going to let you go, but when I do, keep your temper."

Azazael nods but gives Samael a mocking look. 

"I mean it," Samael reiterates 

"I got it," Azazael grunts.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Lucifer stands and pushes Samael.

"It's fine. He will not flip out. You can't keep him like this," Samael releases the ropes. 

"Thanks," Azazael thanks his brother then closes his eyes and begins to control his breathing to control the pain and fury he feels. "Sammy, can you do something that would benefit us all?"

"What's that, bro?" Samael looks in his brother's direction.

"Can you and Semi," he inhales sharply, "Leave, now?" Azazael's eyes begin to water again. 

Samael sighs.

Calaen gives his attention to Azazael. He furrows his brow.

Semhiazah folds his arms, "What are you implying?"

"I know you two have been... Romantic... toward one another and I don't think I can handle it if I see it in front of me," Azazael opens up, admitting his pain, something he would never do.

Samael scoffs, "I'll meet up with you later. Calm your family," he tells Semhiazah. He makes eye contact with Lucifer before taking his leave. 

Semhiazah nods. He holds his hand out for Azazael, to help him up, but Azazael pushes his hand away and gets up on his own.

"I'm fine, I can get up on my own," he stands and brushes himself off, then hugs Calaen one more time. 

Semhiazah smiles. It's nice to see his once lover, an angel with so much rage and wrath, show sensitivity and love.

Lucifer joins the hug, "I'm sorry boys, I let my desire get the best of me. I love you Calaen, you're my only nephew, and to be honest. I'm a little jealous I couldn't have children, so much so that I nearly threatened your life and your sons' lives. That was wrong. Let me train the boys? Let them help me run this place?"

Azazael pushes Lucifer away and let's go of his son, holding the man's face gently in his hand before completely letting go and moving toward his older brother. "What was all that shit I overheard about 'if they can't serve you they will die'?" Azazael whispers.

"I admitted I was jealous, and angry, and said things I shouldn't have. These boys are growing on me. I want to help raise them, train them, show them what they truly are." The passion behind his speech flares in his eyes. 

"Visitations," Azazael growls.

"Huh?" Lucifer raises his brow in confusion. Semhiazah scoffs, able to over hear his brother discussion. Lucifer looks back to Semhiazah and shrugs his shoulders indicating he doesn't know what Azazael is talking about.

"You, I mean we, can get visitation rights a couple of days per week to spend time with and raise the boys," Azazael elaborates. 

Semhiazah folds his arms, disappointed that these men are discussing the custody of his grandsons without him, or the children's parents. Calaen looks at the man he now knows is his father. The blonde keeps his distance, watching Azazael and Lucifer converse quietly. His eyes meet Calaen's and he averts his eyes back to the conversation again, that has now erupted with laughter. 

"So neglectful," Calaen mutters under his breath. 

Semhiazah looks to Calaen again. His eyes narrow, confused as to why he would direct that comment to him, "What?"

"Nothing," Calaen spits, "I just thought I would be worth telling the truth to. I guess I'm not, to you anyway, father."

Semhiazah rolls his eyes and sighs, then looks to Azazael one last time before he leaves.

Azazael's only response is putting his middle finger up, before returning his full attention to Lucifer.

Calaen walks over to where the angels converse, "What was that? What is going on between you two? Can't you at least be civil? Don't you love each other?"

"Love is a funny word, where they lie is on the fence between love and loathe," Lucifer answers. Calaen only shakes his head, confused by his uncle's response.

"Calaen, I do love your father, but I know that my personality sometimes clashes with his. I'm not very rational at times, when I'm angry, and I know he doesn't love me... he's busy fucking Samael. Thus, we can't be together," Azazael's words are sharp and sarcastic. 

"Cae, I want to go home," Raul mumbles, leaning his head back against the wall. 

Azazael pulls a dagger out of his pocket and walks over to Raul. Still holding his comical conversation with Lucifer, he cuts his wrist, then grabs Raul's head to place his mouth on his wrist, forcing him to drink the crimson liquid leaking out of him.

Calaen looks down the corridor, where Semhiazah had gone, but no longer sees him. He then moves to Raul, "What are you doing?"

"He's weak," Azazael answers his son, "He needs something and this is the best I've got."

"I'm tired. I was ripped out of my bed to search for the kids, after a very long night. I want to sleep," Raul whines. 

Jake's fatherly instincts kick in, hearing the boy he raised as his son whine, "Long night doing what?"

"Feeding. In case you haven't noticed, I'm a fucking monster, dad," Raul's fangs drip with Azazael's blood. 

"Blame your biological father, he did that to you," Jake waives the comment as if it was just an outburst teenage angst.

"I do blame him, I hate him for it, now let me go," Raul's becomes enraged.

Abaddon brings the boys out of Lucifer's room. "Raul! Calaen!" Jayse yells as he and Drew run to them. He wraps his arms tight around Raul and Drew jumps into Calaen's arms. 

"Calaen, I want two or three days per week to visit with these boys," Lucifer says as he and Azazael come over to hug them, "You are free to go, nephew." 

Calaen catches a glimpse of Semhiazah looking on from down the hall, "I think someone wants to be included in this discussion," Calaen nudges Azazael, who looks up in the direction Calaen is pointing to see Semhiazah standing against the wall, his arms folded and his face stern, but his eyes cannot mask the pain.

Azazael sighs and beckons for Semhiazah to come over, but Samael comes out of a room near Semhiazah and begins talking to him. They both walk further down the corridor. "I'll see you soon, all of you," Azazael looks to Calaen and Raul. He excuses himself to leave the group. 

Lucifer chuckles as they watch Azazael walk away and disappear into the secret passage, "He just can't leave it alone."

"Where did he go?" Calaen asks his uncle.

"Hell has a slew of secret halls and passageways that only few are permitted to enter. Those of our generals who have adapted stealth to their combat, these passageways are here because of them, they input the plans for it and no one knew for a long time. They are the only ones permitted to use those corridors and from what I have found, they've even built rooms and hideouts back there," Lucifer informs his nephew. 

"So my mother-father is one of them?" Calaen walks over to the wall but is unable to see the opening to where Azazael disappeared. 

Lucifer laughs, "Mother-father, that's a good one, but yea, he's one of the only one we have left. Semi is permitted in some, but not all, and he usually has to be with Zael to enter." Lucifer nods his head in the direction Semhiazah and Samael were previously, "Sammy, who you have met, also has access to some of the corridors." 

"He can't leave the tunnels alone?" Calaen shows confusion, causing his uncle to laugh harder.

"No... He can't leave Semi and Sammy alone," Lucifer makes his way to his room, still giggling, "tunnels..."

"Let's go catch that painfully slow trolley back to the surface," Raul sighs. Calaen and Raul each pick up one of the boys and begin walking to Hell's front gate.

***

The narrow passageway is dark and quiet save the slight footsteps. Samael giggles and puts his arm around Semhiazah, who returns the hug. They both sit on the floor, Samael resting his head on Semhiazah's shoulder while Semhiazah conjures a looking portal. The portal shows heaven's garden, angels flying by and playing in the sparkling night sky. He chuckles and rests his head against the wall, "I remember this, it's beautiful even still."

"Bro, I can't see anything," Samael states quietly. Semhiazah reaches for Samael's hand, interlocking his fingers with Samael's, then with his other hand, runs his finger through the image and brings his finger, with a glowing trail following, to Samael's forehead.

A tear runs down Samael's cheek, "It is just how I remember it." Semhiazah moves his hand to wipe the tear away with his thumb.

Semhiazah questions his vision when he thinks he sees a shadow move against the wall. Nobody is here. There was no one behind behind them when they came into the passageway and they, well Semhiazah, didn't see anyone coming through the tunnel in front of them. The blonde's bright blue eyes illuminate, using his mind to see the corridor in light. 

"I just had to see it for myself," a low voice disrupts the silence. 

"Zael. See what for yourself? Why are you here? Shouldn't you be fucking Lucifer?" Semhiazah spits his response. 

"This," Azazael gestures to the two sitting in front of him, "I had to see this."


	15. Chapter 15

"Adrien, it's been months. Both Calaen and Raul are missing with the boys. Do you think they took the boys and ran off together?" Saul paces Nate's kitchen back and forth.

"Why would you ask such a thing?" Adrien questions in his raspy deep voice, his eyebrows furrowed in both confusion and disgust. 

Saul stops pacing and holds a firm stance and gaze toward his uncle, "He's your ex. You got most of your memories back now, you should know him, I mean he left you for me, who's to say he didn't just leave me for my son?"

"Ouch, Saul. To be honest, I'm disgusted by him. I remember our relationship, I cared for him, but I'm not sure why. He is a lot different from me, he used to feed on me, and I'm really irritated that he wiped my memory clean like that," Adrien corrects his nephew, "I have nearly nothing left Saul. I have Nate, and I don't want to lose him. Lucian is gone, Sal is gone, you and Raul are monsters. Calaen is a monster, and wiped himself from my memory, it feels like I may have known him, but I have to question if I really did."

"But you hunt with Raul, the monster? And, that's ok?" Saul's tone is an angry sarcasm as he retorts to his uncle. 

"Yes it is, because Raul has done nothing. He is a victim who is trying to make the best of what he has been dealt... Even if he and I are species apart," Adrien begins.

"Bullshit, he is a killer... that kills his own kind," Saul gives a mirthless laugh.

"No, Saul, he kills others. We just killed a pack of Lycanthropes not long ago. He does this because of you. He watched you change, become an uncontrollable monster. He watched you kill Jake. Raul loved Jake, Saul," Adrien pleas his last sentence with his nephew.

Adrien pulls his sweater off the back of the kitchen chair and puts it on. "Where are you going?" Saul tugs on his uncle's sweater.

"To the hospital, to see Nate. Why?" Adrien scoffs as if Saul should know where he is going. 

Saul sucks his teeth, "Shit... I'm coming with you," Saul grabs his jacket and both leave the house.

***

Jayse looks around as they reach the surface. 

"Not too crowded this time," Raul notices as he drags himself, dramatically, out of the seat. Calaen sighs and shakes his head. 

"I think some time has passed," Jayse finally says out loud. Drew cocks his head, and begins to notice what Jayse is talking about.

"We were down there a while trying to find you, consorting with my uncles, and... My parents," Calaen cringes at the thought. "We were locked up for a bit too, and we got caught at the gate for a while."

Raul scans his surroundings. Hmmm. Things don't seem all that different. 

"Where to?" Calaen calls out to Raul.

Raul pauses for a moment, then begins to walk again, "My bed... See you when I see you." The group hurries through the vortex that Pierce's the veil, Raul carrying Jayse and Calaen carrying Drew.

Jayse hugs his brother tight, "Thanks Raul. Will you come with us on our visits?"

"To Hell?" Raul whines, throwing his head back slightly and dragging his feet.

Jayse and Drew laugh at him, "It's not that bad, you're silly," Jayse pokes at him.

"Ugh... Ok, some of your visits... Maybe," Raul puts Jayse down. "Calaen. I'm all out of energy. I think you will have to take the boys from here. Calaen nods as he grabs for both Jayse's and Drew's hands.

Raul walks home as quick as his feet will carry him. He enters the quiet house, noticing that it is empty. "Nate? Adje?" No answer comes, and then he catches it. A scent that is so familiar. A scent he remembers all too well, of cologne and lotion, and fresh shampoo... Saul. "What was he doing here?"

Raul begins to feel that disgust for his father again. Just knowing his father never truly cared for him, pissed him off. He felt betrayed, not just by Saul, but by everyone in his life. Everyone except Nate and Adrien. Lucian cared for Raul, but he could never play the part of his father. Sal was the closest thing he had to a father before he got so busy with his life, and then took his life. Myra, his biological mother, coke-fiend-whore, never cared for him, she left him with Saul as a young child. Jayla, the girl he loved, the girl he wanted to marry and have a family with, told him she was pregnant and then ran off. 

Raul made his way to the basement and threw himself on the bed. Jake. The only one who treated him like he actually meant something when Sal couldn't anymore. Gone. Now a demon who will do anything to hurt him. Raul begins remembering his shared feeding with Calaen. What the hell did he do? He falls asleep, frustrated and disappointed. 

***

Adrien and Saul enter Nate's hospital room. No longer in the intensive care unit, he has been moved to a recovery and rehabilitation unit. 

"Nate!" Saul calls excitedly to see his friend standing on his own two feet.

The man has lost more weight, but otherwise appears to be well maintained. Adrien looks at Nate. He wants to hug him so bad, but he's afraid to touch him. He's afraid he will cause him more harm or break his fragile little body in two.

Nate comes to him and wraps his arms around Adrien, "I want to go home." Nate's voice cracks. Adrien can tell that Nate is sick of being hospitalized. Who wouldn't be? Limited to what he can do and where he can go. He's become institutionalized and it starts wearing on a person. 

"I want you to come home, baby," Adrien wraps his arms around Nate delicately, as to not put any pressure on his fragile body.

"What's wrong with you? You barely look at me anymore, let alone touch me?" Nate can feel the insincere hug that Adrien returns.

"What are you talking about?" Adrien blows off the question, as if Nate is hallucinating this perspective. 

"Have you found someone else?" Nate whispers, "I'm not well enough to be with you, so you want to leave me?" 

Adrien pulls Nate close to him and kisses him, "No, Nathaniel. I love you, but I'm scared. Wait. Scratch that, I'm terrified that I'm going to lose you. I'm constantly here, by your side supporting you because I want you to come home. I see you getting better and withering away at the same time." He kisses his partner's lips until he hears Saul exclaim in disgust and make annoying noises such as clearing his throat. Adrien rolls his eyes and scoff, "I guess that means we have to go. We're looking for Raul." He turns his attention to Saul, "Ok, dick, let's go find your son."

Adrien and Saul exit the hospital, "Where to?" Adrien asks putting his hands in his pockets. 

"How am I supposed to know? Why don't we try some of your hunting grounds... Maybe he's there," Saul responds in a spiteful tone.

"Whoa, attitude... Could you be insinuating that I know, uh, your son, better than you do..." Adrien puts his finger on his chin as he develops a malicious smirk to go with his sarcastic jab.

"Ooooh, fuckya," Saul puts up his middle finger. 

Adrien and Saul begin to giggle at one another then Adrien blurts, "Downtown."

"Huh?" Saul raises his brow.

"That's where the hunt always starts, downtown," Adrien takes off, jogging toward the downtown square. He turns around to see Saul still standing where he left him, "Well come on, pokey. Let's go." 

Saul checks his surroundings, then begins walking toward his uncle.

As they approach the fountain, Adrien closes his eyes and turns his head away slightly, remembering what he saw that day. Raul. He gives in and peeks at the fountain but there is no image, just a fountain with clear water flowing and some coins at the bottom. He sighs his relief but feels grievance ping at him that he cannot find Raul. Adrien leads Saul to the back road leading out of town, where Raul and Adrien had their last encounter with a group of monsters. Saul sees Adrien jerk to the side of the road and fall. Adrien's body appears to be quickly dragged into the brush off road. What the hell? Saul delves into his dwindling energy to enhance his vision. Three cambions. Saul takes the form of mist to teleport himself to where they have dragged Adrien. 

"What the hell is going on? Who the hell are you guys?" Adrien yells at the three. 

Saul appears, "Care to tell me what you need him for, fellas?" Saul jumps as he notices among the boys is a petite female, "And lady?"

"Hunting the hunter," the tall, lanky boy states, cocking his head to shake his long, black bangs out of his face. 

"And we can really use a soul for healing. We won't take it all, Master Saul," the muscular boy adds, putting his hands on the back of his neck and standing on his toes to stretch. 

"You know who I am?" Saul steps closer to the siblings. He comes face to face with the petite female, who tilts her head down to curtain her pale face with her long brown hair. 

She nods, "Yes, we know of Master Calaen and his relationship to you. We know of the children, and we need..." The tall lanky boy nudges her with his elbow. She raises her head to furrow her brow in anger at her older brother, "We need to study them. They aren't exactly like us, but they are similar, and our expectancy is low."

"Where are your parents?" Saul asks as he notices specific details of the three Cambion siblings. They are young, possibly even teenagers, but they appear to be hungry. Even the oldest boy, who appears to be more muscular has deficiencies in the muscle tone and he is fairly light weight for a boy of his age. The other two are very small framed and show signs of discoloration in their skin. Wrinkles and dark circles around their eyes also suggest undernourishment and exhaustion.

"Our human mother is dead. We do not know our incubus fathers, and it is hard for us to continually move in and out of the realms of Hell," the eldest sibling explains. 

"There are multiple?" Saul asks, pulling a sandwich out of Adrien's bag and splitting it three ways. He gives a piece to each child.

"Man! That was lunch." Adrien scoffs. "What are your names? Maybe we can get you some help," Adrien stands, brushing the dirt from his pants and grabbing his backpack from Saul.

"I'm Matteus. This is my younger brother, Aiden, and our sister, Persephone," the eldest, muscular sibling introduces. "Thank you for allowing us to eat your food."

Aiden begins heaving, but Matteus and Persephone shrug it off. 

"Is he allergic to the food?" Adrien asks confused and ready to panic.

"No, he just hasn't eaten in a long time and his body is rejecting it. It happens a lot. He eats less than we do," Persephone elaborates on her brother's condition, giving Saul and Adrien better insight to how the siblings operate. Aiden is so small and weak because he gives up his portion to his brother, the protector, and his sister, the youngest, for whom he feels responsible.  
Saul can see the boy's death nearing if his body can't maintain, "Come on, we're going to my place." Saul pulls from his energy pool once more to teleport everyone to his home.

Adrien allows Persephone to climb on his back to piggyback back to Saul's, and begins playing a game of 'I Spy' with her. Matteus and Saul assist one another holding Aiden up.

Calaen jumps, "Saul! What is this? Who are they?"

"They are dying children. Do the boys have any supplement shakes?" Saul asks as he scouts the pantries and the refrigerator in the kitchen. "Ah-ha! found some," he brings a shake to Aiden, "Sip on this slowly, even if you have to take one sip every hour, just until your stomach gets used to having something in it." Aiden nods his understanding.

"Saul," Calaen pulls Saul into the other room, "They are Cambions. The more human ones die all of the time, usually as young children. I'm surprised to see these three made it as long as they did. The human parent usually dies from health failure due to mating with a demon, and the demon is nowhere to be found, usually in Hell. There is no connection like there is with Angels... Just a sexually active demon getting off and leaving its mark, even if its seeds die. All three of them have different fathers."

"So they told us. Now can we please feed them something? They are children." Saul pauses, "Where the hell did you come from? We have been looking for you and Raul!" Saul shouts then looks around to see the boys' empty plates on the table and Jayse and Drew playing a game happily on the floor. 

"Yes we got held up at my uncle's. As I have said, it is quite far. We learned quite a bit, too," Calaen moves to the kitchen to clean the plates off of the table. "Thanks to my father we are home," Calaen blurts.

"You're father was there?" Saul questions.

"Of course, my family sticks together even during times they don't get along," Calaen mutters as if taking a jab at Saul's family life. "OK, who do we have here?"

The youths line up from eldest to youngest and Saul introduces them to Calaen and the boys, "Matteus." Matteus stands straight and pushes his chest out. "Aiden," Aiden smiles weakly and waves passively before taking another sip of his supplement shake. "Persephone," the young girl curtseys, her hair falling in front of her face again. 

"If you're here, where's Raul?" Adrien interrupts. 

"He is home, in bed," Calaen informs.  
Adrien squeezes by Calaen and the cambions toward the front door, "If you'll excuse me, I have a young man who needs me at home.  
Persephone grabs Adrien's sweater from behind. He turns around to meet her sad little face. "Don't go. I like you," she began.

Adrien looks up to his nephew and Calaen, who are glaring at him as if he shattered the poor girl's world, then kneels to meet Persephone's hazel eyes, "You can come visit me, and I'll keep in touch with you." 

"These children cannot stay here," Calaen informs Adrien. 

Adrien can see hopelessness well in Persephone's eyes. Matteus hangs his head, but nods his understanding, and Aiden conjures up enough energy to bubble himself off from everyone else.

Saul and Calaen gasp.

"He does that too," Persephone says shakily. "He feels that we never asked for a place to stay."

"He is more demon than the others," Calaen whispers. 

Adrien takes Persephone's hand, "How would you guys like to come stay with me. There is plenty of room down stairs if no one minds rooming with a moody vampire, and a couple of spare rooms upstairs. Matteus quickly averts his softened green eyes to Adrien, and Aiden releases himself from the bubble, his pale grey eyes wide and smiling.

"How old and powerful is the vampire?" Matteus asks Adrien.

"He is twenty-one, fairly new vampire, but very powerful," Adrien answers.

Matteus looks to Aiden, "You're bunking with the vamp."

Aiden furrows his brow, "What? Why me? Why not you?"

"Your are similar in age and you're strong enough to hold him at bay if need be," Matteus tells his brother before turning his attention to Adrien, "No offense, it's just we don't know him and we don't know how he vamps out."

Adrien chuckles, "He's great kid, he's Saul's son. I think you'll be fine. You know he may feel the same way about you."

Adrien arrives home to find the house quiet and dark, just the way he left it, "Make yourselves at home. The refrigerator and cabinets are stocked with food, there is television in the living room. Why don't we start with showers?" There is two bathrooms upstairs and another one downstairs in the basement. Raul keeps it pretty clean. Perephone, you can use the bathroom in my bedroom, and someone else can use the bathroom in the hall," he offers.

"I'll use the one in the basement, since that's where I'll be staying," Aiden says. Matteus walks upstairs with Adrien and Persephone. Adrien opens the closet in the hall and hands Matteus a couple of towels. He walks the young man down the hall, Persephone following them,to the bathroom, passing the two guest rooms, "These are the rooms you will be staying in, pick which one you want. There are some clothes in the closets," he turns to Persephone, "You will have to wear boy's clothes until we can get you some girl's cloths." She nods.

Matteus looks from room to room, "Which one do you want, little sis?" Both bedrooms are made up very similar. Both have walls painted white and fluffy white carpet, like the rest of the rooms in the house. Both have queen size beds qith night stands the hold lamps on either side, in the center of the room, and a tall wooden combo dresser to the far side of the room near the closet. The only difference is the color of the bedding. One has a pale blue comforter and sheets of the same color and the other has cream colored comforter with cream colored sheets.

"Can I take this one?" Persephone asks pointing to the bedroom with the cream colored bedding. Adrien and Matteus smile and nod their heads. Matteus takes the towels into the bathroom, shuts the door, and turns the water on. 

Adrien leads Persephone back to his bedroom, "There are clean towels on the rack in there," he informs her as he opens the closet and begins rummaging for some of Raul's old clothes that he has grown out of. He finds a tee-shirt and a pair of jeans that may fit her. 

Aiden quietly makes his way down to the basement. Raul is fast asleep, face down with covers pulled over him, on the full size bed against the wall to his left. Aiden then sees a stand holding a television just opposite the bed and next to it, a tall wooden dresser. A futon is folded into a sofa position just beyond the foot of the bed. He can see the open door to the bathroom just behind the futon, and walks in, closing the door quietly and turning on the light. Noticing the small towel rack with a clean towel on it, he exhales slowly and turns the water on.

Upstairs, Matteus exits the bathroom with a towel wrapped around him and makes his way to the bedroom, while Persephone tries the clean clothes on, looking in the full length mirror. The tee-shirt fits pretty good. The pants are a little long, but not too big around the waist. They make their way downstairs to see Adrien scurrying around the kitchen to prepare a meal. The aroma of spices and sizzling meats fill the entire downstairs area. 

"Have a seat, dinner will be done soon. I'm making hamburgers and fries, it's quick and easy," Adrien opens the oven to check on the fries. 

Aiden turns of the water, steps out of the shower, and reaches for the towel to dry off. He looks down passed his small, withering abdomen, at the discolored birthmark in the shape of a pentagram on the front of his hip. He rubs his fingers around the birth mark then lets his fingers slide down to his pubic area. His member begins to stiffen against the towel, pushing it out a little. 

He opens the bathroom door to see Raul standing in front of him. Raul's fangs show, and his icy blue eyes illuminate in the dark room. 

Raul grabs Aiden and pushes him against the wall, "Who the fuck are you, and what are you doing in my bathroom?"

Aiden exerts enough energy to push Raul off of him. Raul falls back, knocking the futon over. He gets up and teleports himself to Aiden, "Hmm. What are you? So I can put a notch on the scoreboard next to whatever you call yourself."

"My name is Aiden," the young man grunts, fighting Raul's strength.

The group upstairs hear the banging downstairs. "What was that?" Persephone asks.

Adrien gasps, "Aiden! Raul!"

He runs downstairs, "Raul! It's ok, he lives here now."

Aiden uses his energy to restrain Raul. 

"Let him go," Adrien asks. Aiden abides. 

"My name is Aiden. I'm a cambions, my mother is human and my father is an incubus. Adrien was kind enough to take me and my siblings in," he extends his hand to Raul to help him up.

Raul shoves his hand away and gets up on his own. "There's more of them?" 

"Relax, Raul," Adrien puts his hand on his great nephew's shoulder. 

Raul moves over to the dresser and retrieves a pair of pants and a shirt from the drawers. He turns around to face Aiden, who stands in the room nude, exposed to all who surround him. 

"You'll need these," Raul smiles. 

"He's going to be sharing the basement with you," Adrien adds.

"Great," Raul smirks sarcastically, "You might want to know that the sofa is broken and doesn't fold out to a bed."

Aiden sighs and rolls his eyes while he slips the long sleeve shirt over his head.

"Come on up for dinner guys," Adrien invites both Aiden and Raul. He turns around half way up the stairs and points to Aiden, "Small bites for you so you don't get sick." 

Raul looks at Aiden, remembering the young demon's scrawny body. They continue following Adrien up stairs. Matteus and Persephone have helped themselves to food and are sitting at the table eating when Adrien, Raul, and Aiden come up the stairs. Adrien moves to the stove, fixes a plate for Aiden, and sets it on the table. Aiden sits down and takes a small bite of his hamburger. Raul stands by the counter.

"Guys, this is my nephew, Raul," Adrien tells the group at the table, "Raul, this is Matteus." Adrien points to Matteus.

"Hi," Matteus responds.

"Persephone," Adrien points to Persephone.

"Nice to meet you," she says, her eyes flashing at him and her cheeks blushing slightly. 

"And you've met Aiden," Adrien says, gesturing to Aiden. Aiden looks up and winks seductively at Raul.

"Are you going to join us?" Persephone asks. 

"No, thank you," Raul politely declines, "I, uh, don't eat food." He runs his hand through his disheveled black hair. 

Persephone and Matteus finish eating, "May we be excused to watch the television?" Matteus asks. 

"Sure, let me get you the remotes," Adrien walks into the living room and shows Matteus the remotes for the television and the sound system. The television turns on and Raul can hear his uncle explaining to Matteus how to navigate the channels and use the TV guide. 

"You not like the food?" Raul asks, noticing how slow Aiden is eating. 

Aiden giggles, "I like it, it's just, I don't eat much and my body starts rejecting food, so I have to eat slow." 

Raul takes a seat at the table, "What happened to your mother?"

"She died a few years ago. She became really sick and her body failed," Aiden tells Raul.

"You said your father is an incubus?" Raul asks Aiden.

Aiden takes another bite of his food and nods, "Yes a sexually active demon."

"You're powerful though," Raul notes. 

"Out of all of us siblings, I am the most powerful, but it takes a lot of energy," Aiden sits back in the chair, half of his burger eaten, and all of his fries cleared off his plate. 

"Full?" Raul smiles.

Aiden giggles and nods. He gets up and empties plate in the trash then rinses it off in the sink and places it in the dishwasher. He gags, then holds himself still and takes a deep breath. 

"I'm heading downstairs to watch television and relax, you are welcome to join," Raul offers, standing by the basement door. Aiden nods. He slowly moves toward Raul, and puts his arm around the young vampire for support. 

They both sit on the bed. Raul searches for the remote and turns on the television. "This show is really funny, it's a family of criminals trying to function in society," Raul fluffs his pillow and sits back. Aiden leans on his knee. 

Raul tosses the remote onto Aiden's lap. The young demon sits up and looks back to Raul who chuckles at him.

"You can put on anything you want to watch," Raul says. 

Aiden grabs the other pillow, lays down, and folds it under his head. He hands the remote back to Raul, "I'm sorry. You can control the television."

"You tired?" Raul asks, but the only response he gets is a slight nod. He notices that Aiden begins shivering. He lays down next Aiden and pulls the comforter over both of them, then wraps his arm around the young cambion to calm him. 

Upstairs, Adrien carries Persephone to her room and tucks her into bed, while Matteus excuses himself to his room.

Persephone opens her eyes slightly, "Thank you. You are the very best. I wish you were our dad."

Adrien smiles and kisses her head, "I can be a dad to you." He exits the room, "Good night, Matt," he calls down the hall.

"Night. Thank you for everything," the young man calls out of the room. 

Adrien's cell phone rings. "Hello... Nate?" Adrien heads to his bedroom. "Really? They said you can be released tomorrow? That's great! Yes sure ... I'll be there to pick you up tomorrow... I have a surprise for you too, babe... You'll see tomorrow... Ok. I love you."

Aiden rolls over and wraps his arms around Raul in his sleep. He wraps his legs around the vampire and wakes Raul. The vampire shifts himself down so that Aiden's leg rests on his hip to get comfortable, but can feel Aiden's stiffened member pressing against his abdomen. Too tired to care, he closes his eyes and drifts back to sleep.

***

Adrien arrives at the hospital and enters the rehabilitation center.

He approaches the petite nurse in dark blue scubs sitting behind the desk. "I'm here to pick up Nathaniel O'Halloran. He is being discharged today."

The nurse moves her braided hair out of her face and searches the name on the computer, "Yes, administration is in there with him now discharging him. He will be ready to go shortly."

Nate walks out of the room, with more strength than he had the day before. "What?" Adrien begins to cry uncontrollably, thankful and wanting to jump out of his skin with excitement, as he wraps his arms around Nate.

"Adje, it's ok," Nate says prying Adrien off of him. 

"You look great! How did? I mean, what?" Adrien stumbles to find the words making Nate chuckle.

"Calaen came by last night and expended most of his energy on healing me. I feel invincible Adje. Better than I ever did," Nate informs his other half.

"He did that? He kept his promise, at least," Adrien mutters. "How do you feel about adopting children? Being a family?"

"I don't have any experience with babies Adje, but it would be nice," Nate meets Adrien's eyes, putting a hand on his partner's shoulder.

"Not babies," Adrien comments, his tone showing he doesn't have the skill level or the time to care for babies full time.

"Raul? He already lives with us and he is an adult. Not to mention he's a vampire. His goal is to fade from society, not interject himself into society as a deathless freak," Nate elaborates.

"No, not Raul, although, yes Raul is under our care until he can get out on his own. He's got huge plans in the works by the way," Adrien tells Nate as they leave the hospital. "Let's go out to lunch," Adrien offers, smiling sincerely.

*** 

Raul awakens when the young Cambion lifts himself off of him and climbs out of the bed to make his way to the bathroom. Raul can hear Aiden grunting and moaning and sucking his teeth loud as if in pain, before hearing his stream hit the water in the toilet. The toilet flushes and the sink water runs. Aiden shuts off the sink water and dries his hands then exits the bathroom to see Raul sitting up in bed looking at him. His disheveled chestnut colored hair falling in front of his emerald green eyes.

"You ok?" Raul asks, raising his brow.

"Yes. I, uh, have an issues urinating sometimes," Aiden answers as discreet as possible, and sits down on the bed.

"Urinary Tract Infection?" Raul asks, prying for more information.

"No, I get so hard, but I can't release, so it just hurts," Aiden hesitantly opens up. 

Raul smirks, "Ouch. Ok. Maybe you do have an infection. Or are you telling me you are my age and you have never released?"

"I have never released, but my sexual appetite is insatiable," Aiden tells Raul, embarrassed. 

"How about your brother and sister?" Raul asks.

"They are normal, as far as I know. My brother has hooked up with women, and my sister, I am not sure if she has been with anyone," Aiden states.

Raul smirks and turns on the television. He changes the channel to an illicit channel that streams pornography. 

Aiden turns around quickly, "What are you doing?" 

Raul moves up on the bed, "Maybe you just need a little help," he says nodding toward the television. Raul keeps his eyes on Aiden as his bedfellow watches the television intently. His member stiffens again. 

Raul unbuttons his own pants and slides them down over his hips, then begins gliding his hand up and down his hard dick. Aiden turns his attention to Raul again after feeling the movement next to him. He gasps.

"Come on, take it out. Let's see if you can finally release," Raul suggests, rubbing the wet tip of his penis. 

Aiden unbuttons his pants and pulls out his hard dick. He begins touching it softly, then grips it and starts stroking it from base to tip. He moves over to sit close to Raul and lean on him a bit. 

"That's it, does it feel good?" Raul whispers.

Aiden exhales, "Yeah."

Raul leans over and begins kissing Aiden. His tongue gently licking his lips and entering his mouth to dance with Aiden's tongue. Aiden returns the kiss, allowing his tongue to venture into Raul's mouth. Without breaking the kiss, Raul guides Aiden to lay down. He then breaks the kiss to remove his shirt, and helps Aiden remove his shirt as well. The vampire sucks on Aiden's neck, then begins licking and sucking at the cambion's nipples. 

Aiden moans as Raul continues to lick at his nipples while rubbing the head of his dick against Aiden's. Raul then moves down and takes Aiden's entire member into his mouth. He begins sucking and licking and wrapping his tongue around Aiden's stiffened member. Aiden sucks his teeth and moans louder. Raul pushes Aiden's legs open and takes him deep into his throat. "Ahhh, Raul..." Aiden breathes. 

Raul then begins rubbing Aiden's balls as he continues to suck, pulling Aiden deep into his mouth and creating a tight suction in his throat as if he was going to swallow Aiden. The cambion's breathing becomes faster, and he begins moaning on exhale. Raul reaches up and begins rubbing Aiden's nipple with his other hand. Aiden's breathing becomes even faster. His nipples harden and his body begins to tense. He let's out a moan and pushes his pelvis against Raul's mouth as he finally releases. Raul swallows all of him, then pulls his mouth off of Aiden's softening dick.

"Oh my God," Aiden breathes heavily, "I came... That was... Amazing," Aiden notices Raul's still hard member, dripping with precum now. "Let me do that to you. You helped me, it's my turn to help you now."

Aiden sits up and climbs on top of Raul. He begins kissing him again and grinding his member against Raul's. Aiden begins licking Raul's ear, letting his breath out slowly to send shivers through Raul as he uses one hand to stroke Raul's dick and the other to play with Raul's nipples. He can feel the precum dripping heavily from Raul's cock, enough to coat his dick as a lubricant. 

Aiden let's his fingers slide up and down Raul's cock. Raul beings to moan and Aiden slows his pace, then moves to lick and suck at Raul's nipples. Raul jolts as a shiver runs through him again. Aiden then moves down to take Raul's member into his mouth. Raul moans loudly as his member is engulfed into Aiden's mouth. Aiden tries to take Raul deep into his throat but gags. 

"It's ok, just mimic like you are swallowing something and open your throat," Raul tells him. 

Aiden takes Raul into his mouth again and following Raul's advice, he opens his throat and takes Raul deep. Raul moans again and Aiden begins sucking and twirling his tongue around Raul's member faster. 

"Aiden, I'm going to cum. Do you want to swallow me or would you be more comfortable if I pull out?" Raul asks, but it is too late, Aiden continues at his fast pace and Raul explodes, hitting the back of Aiden's throat. Aiden begins swallowing Raul's juice quickly. Aiden pulls his mouth off of Raul's cock, then lays down next to Raul and wraps his arm around him.

"I'm sorry," Raul apologizes, "That was really inconsiderate of me to do that to you." Aiden smirks and sighs. "I guess when you told me that you couldn't get off, it was a challenge for me. To be honest I stopped caring with who or what I sleep with... Sex is sex," Raul continues. 

Aiden nods, but then turns the other way. In the short amount of time he has spent with Raul, he has developed some pretty strong feelings for him. For one, Raul is the only being that has released him like that, and they seem to have somethings in common. They even seem to think on the same wavelength. 

"Aiden?" Raul whispers. Aiden hesitates, but then masks his emotions and turns to face Raul. Raul kisses the cambion's head then lays down, puts his arm around Aiden, and falls asleep.

Matteus gets up from the couch, "Where are you going?" Persephone asks her eldest brother. 

"Going to check on Aiden. They put him down there with that vampire, and I haven't seen him come up all day, not even to eat," Matteus responds, then begins heading down the basement stairs quietly. He enters the room to see Aiden and Raul intertwined on the bed. He scoffs and then makes his way back up the stairs.

"Is Adien ok?" Persephone asks coming to the door to meet Matteus as he exits the stairwell and closes the door behind him. 

"Yea, he's fine, he's just sleeping," Matteus smiles at his little sister to assure her everything is alright, while protecting her from knowing Aiden's desires and urges.

Adrien and Nate enter through the front door. Matteus and Persephone move to the foyer to greet their parental figures. Adrien moves to stand between the siblings and puts an arm around each one. He leans toward the muscular young man, "This is Matteus. He is the oldest of them," he then leans to the young girl, "And this little cupcake right here is Persephone, she's the baby sister." She wraps both of her arms around Adrien and hugs him tight.

Curious, Nate asks, "There are two? I mean they look full grown, but can we really care for two more people?"

"Three," Adrien smirks, "The third one is the middle child," He pauses and looks around, then calls for Matteus, "Matt, is Aiden still downstairs?"

"Three?" Nate extends the high pitched inflection to a whine.

"Yea, he's still sleeping," Matteus answers from the living room, "He probably swallowed enough," Matteus comments under his breath, leaving Persephone puzzled.

"He needs to get up and eat," Adrien turns his attention back to Nate, "He ate less than the other two and he has issues digesting food now."

"You left the weakest one down there with Raul? Adrien, what is wrong with you?" Nate panics.

"Not weakest. Strongest, well not physically but mentally and powerfully," Adrien boasts, "He can handle himself against Raul."

"Great... Let me guess, they're not human?" Nate rolls his eyes.

"No, Nate, they aren't, they are half demon, but they are more human than Raul and he was born human," Adrien chuckles.

"Please don't wake Dracula with you ill comments, Adje," Nate sighs. 

Adrien runs down the basement stairs and taps Aiden on his ankle, "Let's go bud. You need to get up and get some food in you." Aiden does not respond. Adrien tugs the cambion's ankle this time, "Let's go; you need to eat Ai." Aiden clenches tighter to Raul. "Awe isn't his cute, Raul is like a big teddy bear," Adrien continues tugging on Aiden's ankle. The cambion finally wakes up and tries to untangle himself from Raul. 

Raul moans, then sits up rubbing his hands through his hair and then rubbing his eyes, "Come on," he whispers, annoyed with the disturbance in his bedroom. Aiden stands and stretches, then follows Adrien upstairs.

Matteus sets a bowl of cereal on the table for his younger brother. Adrien puts his arm around Aiden and brings him closer to Nate, "Nate, this is Aiden."

Nate nods, his eyes softening when looking upon the boy's frail frame, "Nice to meet you." 

"Likewise," Aiden returns his response with a comfortable smile.

Adrien puts his hands on Aiden's shoulders and guides him to the chair, "Eat..." Adrien pauses for a minute, "Small bites." 

Aiden looks around at everyone staring at him as if they are anticipating his first bit. He becomes nervous, then stares down at the food. Raul comes up the stairs from the basement and stands near the door watching everyone stare at Aiden. He finally breaks the silence and everyone's gaze on Aiden, "What are you all looking at? Let the dude eat in peace..." Everyone turns their attention to Raul. 

"Drac!" Nate walks over to Raul with his arms open.

"Hey, uncle Nate. Glad to see you are better, and damn glad to have you home," Raul wraps his arms around Nate and hugs him tight. 

Persephone tugs at Adrien's shirt and whispers, "I thought his name was Raul?"

"Yeah, well, that's a little joke they have between them," Adrien smiles at her. 

Raul opens the refrigerator and grabs a jar with viscous, crimson fluid in it. "Aiden, you want to eat that down here? You can," Raul offers. Aiden takes one last look at everyone hovered around him, picks up his bowl of cereal, and follows Raul to the basement, "Thanks for the cereal," he calls to Matteus, "That will take me a fucking hour to eat," he mumbles only loud enough for Raul to hear. 

Raul chuckles, then becomes more serious, "Dude, if you have to eat to live, then eat.

"I wish I didn't," he shakes his head, then pulls the spoon to his mouth. 

Raul looks upon him with pity, then sits down next to him. It had been months since Raul fed, and even though Aiden was mostly demon, he can still smell the young man's bloodscent. Raul begins caressing Aiden's neck. Aiden swallows the bite he had been chewing and turns his head to meet Raul's eyes, "Again?"

Raul's dark form emerges. He kisses Aiden's neck gently, his fangs softly scraping against Aiden's skin. "Finish eating," Raul whispers in his new lover's ear, "I don't want to ruin taste for you just yet."

Aiden looks at Raul, quizzically, then takes another spoonful of his cereal, while Raul ponders whether he wants to give the cambion eternal life, or rather if he is able to give the cambion eternal life. Reading the conflict in Raul's icy blue eyes, Aiden furrows his brow and asks, "What's running through that undead head of yours?" 

Raul pauses his thoughts and answers, "It's nothing, we'll talk about it later." Does Raul even want that responsibility? Having a being to train even when he himself is still a fairly new vampire. What if the cambion doesn't take to his blood and dies? What if he doesn't have the skill or essence to turn another like his father turned him? What if he takes too much and kills the cambion that way?

Aiden finishes and makes his way upstairs to put the bowl in the dishwasher. Raul sits on the bed. The urge to taste Aiden's blood growing stronger and stronger. Aiden returns downstairs and find his place next to Raul on the bed. Raul puts his arm around Aiden, "Can I taste you?"

Aiden becomes submissive with Raul closing the space between them. He nods, and Raul's fangs prick at Aiden's neck ever so gently. Aiden moans and his pants become wet under the bulge. Raul chuckles, licking and kissing Aiden's neck, "Did you cum?"

Aiden nods. Raul leans in again to lick up a small amount of blood trickling down the young man's neck. Twice. He has never been able to climax and Raul has made him achieve it twice in one day, once without even trying.

Raul bites his own wrist and holds it to Aiden's mouth, "Would you like to taste me?" Aiden nods and sucks the blood dripping from Raul's wrist. Raul pulls his wrist away, "Damn, baby, that's enough," he chuckles, "I don't know if that will turn you or not."

"I don't feel any different," Aiden claims.

Raul walks over to his dresser to pull a clean sweater out, "It might take a day. Let me know if you start feeling sick at the sight of food or the taste is unbearable," Raul pauses and turns to face Aiden who is rolling his eyes and smirking sarcastically. "Oh yeah, right..." Raul comments, acknowledging Aiden's current battle with food.

Raul puts his shoes on. "Where are you going?" Aiden asks, sitting on the bed and pulling his arms in close to his body, folding his hands and shrugging his shoulders. 

"I need to feed and I have an agenda that has been interrupted," Raul grabs his bag, checks it to be sure it is properly stocked, then hesitates before leaving, his hand on the door knob. He turns around and looks at Aiden. The cambion's head is lowered, his black hair falling in front of his pale face. He let's go of the door knob and quickly moves to Aiden, lifts Aiden's chin up gently, and kisses his lips, then heads out the door.


	16. Chapter 16

Raul walks half way up the driveway before he is stopped by Adrien, "Where are you going?" His uncle calls from the porch.

"Hunting," the young vampire forces a smirk until he becomes completely aware of his surroundings, and takes control of his actions once again.

"What was that? Where was your head just now?" Adrien notices that he didn't have Raul's attention, and that Raul's actions were delayed.

"Nowhere," he snaps back, "Thinking about what I'm going after tonight. I saw a bloody mess on the news. Bodies ripped to shreds," he finishes, shaking his head. That's a lie. Raul tries to hold eye contact with his uncle to make his lie more believable, but it becomes harder to stay focused. Adrien nods, and Raul turns away from Adrien to walk toward downtown, finally releasing his breath, quietly sighing his relief. While it is true he saw the bloody representation on television, the hunt was the furthest thing from his mind. Aiden. The cambion. How? Raul begins to question how Aiden affects him the way that he does, and how he let it happen. He begins thinking about Jayla, wondering what might have been between them if she had just accepted him. Yet, his thoughts of Jayla were not enough to keep the thoughts of Aiden at bay.Raul had never been attracted to men. Why now? He continues walking toward the home displayed on the news story earlier.


End file.
